Ministerial Staff

Stuart Bell, Pastor bell@fbccenterton.org

Stuart Bell is a native of Memphis, Tenn., born July 12, 1961. He accepted Jesus as his Savior and Lord on March 1, 1978. During his senior year of high school, he surrendered to the ministry under Pastor Cliff Palmer at First Baptist Springdale, Arkansas.

He is a graduate of Springdale High School (1979), John Brown University (JBU) in Siloam Springs, Arkansas (1983), and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas (1987). After working as an assistant manager at Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., he served as youth minister at Field Street Baptist Church in Cleburne, Texas and First Baptist Church in Edmond, Oklahoma. He then pastored two Arkansas churches (Forrest Park Baptist, Pine Bluff and First Baptist, Searcy) before becoming the pastor of First Baptist Centerton in February of 1998.

Stuart and Lisa (from Hot Springs, Arkansas) met at JBU and have been married since June 18, 1983. Lisa teaches Bible at Life Way Christian School, a ministry of FBC, Centerton. They have two children, Emily, married to Matt Tyler, who is studying at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky; and Lucas, a sophomore at Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar, Missouri.

Stuart is currently serving as a trustee on the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention. He enjoys reading, fishing, hiking, travel, and the St. Louis Cardinals. Also, the family includes two golden retrievers, Andy and Opie.

Luke Bowers, Associate Pastor: Administrator of Life Way Christian School lbowers@lwcsar.com

Luke Bowers was born and raised in the Kansas City area and came to know Christ as his Savior in 1978. He graduated from Southwest Baptist University with a bachelors degree in education and went on to receive his masters in Christian education from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and his doctorate from Master’s International School of Divinity.

Luke is the co-author of Life in View of Eternity, a Bible-based character curriculum for teens. God has also blessed him by allowing him to be in two movies produced by Sherwood pictures. He had a small extra role in Fireproof, and his first speaking role in Courageous.

Luke met his wife, Erin, while at SBU and they have been married for 14 years and have two beautiful daughters, Ashlyn and Adyson. They enjoy spending time together as a family, going to the beach, and have been to Disney World 7 times. Luke enjoys playing golf, tennis, and loves a good bowl of cereal or ice cream.

Aaron Chastain, Associate Pastor: Students aaron@fbccenterton.org

Aaron Chastain has been a Christ-follower since 1996, when Jesus took over. Aaron has been at First Baptist since May 2008. A native of Bentonville, Arkansas and an alumnus of Bentonville High School, Aaron graduated from Arkansas Tech University with a B.A. degree in Speech Communications. Aaron is currently attending Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in pursuit of a Masters of Divinity degree.

Aaron and his admittedly "better-half", Lori, have been married since June 2007. They are the parents of an awesome baby boy named “Mo” who is a Razorback-in-training! Lori is an amazing wife and mom. Both Aaron and Lori are called to reach teenagers and 20-Somethings with the life-changing love of Jesus Christ. Aaron's heart is to see something God-sized take place with this generation of young people. Lori has a special call to love on the young ladies involved in student ministry and 20-Somethings. Aaron and Lori believe in an open-door policy where teenagers and 20-Somethings are always welcome in their home. They are Razorback fans and love a good tailgate at the game. They also enjoy sushi, Marias, and some Kool-aid.

Jim Daniel, Associate Pastor: Music and Worship jim@fbccenterton.org

Jim Daniel was led to Jesus by his Father in February, 1978. He was called to ministry in June of 1987 and was ordained to the Ministry of the Gospel in March, 1995. He is a graduate of Palo Duro High School in Amarillo, Texas (1986), Brewton Parker College in Mount Vernon, Georgia (1991) and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminiary in Fort Worth, Texas(1998). He served as the Minister of Music at Poplar Springs North Baptist Church from 1987 to 1996. He served as the Minister of Music at Connell Baptist Church in Fort Worth, Texas from 1996 to 2000 and has served the Lord as the Minister of Music and Worship at First Baptist Church Centerton, Arkansas since May of 2000.

Jim met his wife, Kay (from Nashville, Georgia) while in college. They were married on June 29, 1991 in Dublin, Georgia. Kay teaches English and Creative Writing at Life Way Christian School. Jim and Kay have three children, Magan, Hannah and Jacob. The family loves the outdoors and are avid sports fans, leaning heavily toward basketball and college football. Jim enjoys hiking with his family, running and backpacking with his son Jacob and their yellow lab, Hutch.

Bob Metcalf, Associate Pastor: Education and Family Life bob@fbccenterton.org

Bob began his relationship with Jesus after a sixth-grade Sunday School class two weeks before his twelfth birthday. He announced his conviction that Christ had called him to ministry during the summer before his junior year in high school. He has been serving in equipping ministries with churches since 1972.

Bob joined the team at First Baptist in September 2003. His responsibilities have included office administration; educational ministries such as Sunday School, discipleship, and missions education; and coordination of the Children’s ministry. Presently, he oversees the education and family ministries of the church. He has a passion for starting Sunday School classes and getting people involved in doing direct missions and ministries. He also guides the Partners in Parenting ministry and Upward Sports for kids in Kindergarten through the sixth grade, as well as the Centerton Seniors ministry for those over fifty.

Bob came to First Baptist from LifeWay Christian Resources after 19 years of service through the Southern Baptist Convention's publishing ministry. During his tenure at LifeWay, Bob was an Internet designer and the founding editor of CE-News an e-Newsletter for Christian Educators. Prior to that, he served as a FAITH ministry events coordinator, a Youth Sunday School growth consultant, a Sunday School program coordinator, and as a multimedia producer. He has also served as a Youth Minister and Family Life Minister in churches in Tennessee, Arkansas, Texas, and Louisiana. He is the author of Ideas for Reaching Youth: Outreach-Evangelism Handbook, and a curriculum writer for parenting and young adult materials for LifeWay Christian Resources.

His hobbies include basketball, backpacking, and the high-tech treasure-hunting game known as geocaching. He is married to his college sweetheart, the former Barbara Preston. Barb and Bob are originally from the Houston, Texas area. They met at East Texas Baptist University where Bob received his B.A. Bob also has a Master of Arts in Religious Education from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Barb and Bob have two married children, Matt Metcalf of Nashville, Tennessee and Suzanne Kafer of Paducah, Kentucky. They are also grandparents since July 2010!