Dr. Ronald Bouthillette
Lead Pastor

 
Let me tell you my story… I have a diversified background (to say the least!) I was born into a religious family in Maine. My family rarely went to church but made sure I finished catechism (church teaching for youth).

In 1970, at the age of 20, my high school best friend told me that God was interested in me personally. This person seemed to have a real connection with God and got me thinking seriously about who Jesus was. My friend invited me to church. The church was different. It was full of young people, had upbeat music and the sermons were practical and taught right out of the Bible. It was very “real”, not religious. After some soul searching, I decided to make a life long decision; to become a follower of Jesus Christ.

I immediately became active in the church as well as choosing to go to my church’s Bible school- Florida Bible College. Later, I moved to Boston where I worked in the banking industry and later worked for a fortune 500 company in their collections department. But even though I was active as a lay leader in a growing church in Boston, my heart was in the ministry, so I decided to leave the market place and attend Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary.

For a number of years I doubted and questioned the purpose of organized religion. Hungry to see my faith lived out on a day-to-day basis, during my seminary years, I began a search which ironically lead me back to be a part of organized religion…only this time a little cautious and with a new perspective.

My first position was as a student pastor in an urban ministry in Massachusetts. Later I moved to Western Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Massachusetts, Florida, New York and now we serve the First Baptist Church as their Senior Pastor. These positions helped me to see that in spite of her problems, the church is still God’s agent for His love today!

While being a pastor in Indiana, I earned my Doctor of Ministry degree at Luther Rice Seminary in Atlanta, Georgia. In addition to working in ministry since 1983, I’ve been a restaurant manager, a waiter, salesperson, and involved in a successful home business. I think I bring to any Church a variety of life experience, both in ministry and business.

I am married to an awesome partner – Cathy and we have two children – Erich and Rachel. Erich lives in the Boston area, married to Joanne and they have three sons. Rachel is married to Rickie and they live in Virginia Beach and they have one son. I love the outdoors, reading, walking, and getting to know people over cups of coffee.