Our Pastor
Dr. William Lavender and his wife are missionaries to the military under Baptist International Missions, Inc. (BIMI). They are currently planting Liberty Baptist Church in El Paso, Texas as a ministry to the U.S. Military, Law Enforcement, Federal Employees, and U.S. Government Contractors and their combined families in the El Paso area.
Pastor Lavender has been involved in local church work since 1988, when he surrendered to Christ’s call to serve in full-time Christian ministry. He has been faithfully serving in local churches both as layman and ordained minister of the Gospel. Pastor Lavender was ordained and licensed to the ministry by the Hunter Park Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Florida after faithfully serving as the Associate Pastor for nearly three years. Pastor Lavender is a retired U.S. Army Commissioned Officer. He served in combat in Operation Desert Storm and Operation Iraqi Freedom. He and his wife have three lovely children.
STATEMENT OF CONVERSION
“I was saved in 1973, at the age of 5 years old, at the foot of my bed when I prayed these words, “Jesus come into my heart.” My parents were members of the El Centro Baptist Tabernacle in El Centro, California at that time. Titus 3:5 describes my salvation experience with these words, “…by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost.”
CALL TO THE MINISTRY
“Christ called me to preach after reading Luke 9:59-60 in my U.S. Army barracks room. In Luke 9:59, Jesus says, “Follow me…” In Luke 9:60, Jesus says, “…go thou and preach the kingdom of God.” These words from the Scriptures were used by the Holy Spirit to convict me about my calling and surrender to full-time ministry. I surrendered to full-time ministry while attending the Temple Baptist Church in Lacey, Washington.”
EDUCATION
- B.A. Church Ministries/Pastoral Theology; Trinity Baptist College; Jacksonville, Florida (1997)
- M.Div. Pastoral Ministry; Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary; Lynchburg, Virginia (2016)
- D.Min. Pastoral Leadership; Liberty University Rawlings School of Divinity; Lynchburg, Virginia (2021)
Let’s build something together.
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