Pastoral Staff

Roni Hampton
Pastor of Women's Ministries/Missions Director
E-mail: THamp85@aol.com

I'm an Odessa girl "born and bred." I attended school here and graduated from Odessa High. Although I really wasn't that interested, I attended two years at Odessa College because that is what my parents wanted me to do. During my second year at OC I met Don and we were married six months later. After spending 7 years in the army, living in various places, we returned to Odessa.

I was raised in the Methodist church - was taken to Sunday School and church from the time I was an infant. However, I had only a head knowledge of Jesus Christ, but not a personal relationship with Him. When we moved back to Odessa, I had a real longing for "something more." We began attending worship services at Temple (now CrossRoads). On Friday night, February 10, 1970, Brother Curtis Thorpe came to our house and asked us a question we had never been asked before -"If we died that night did we know we would go to heaven?" I don't think either of us had ever really thought about it, but that night we kneeled and asked Christ to become our Savior.

After about a year, we felt God calling us to the mission field. After graduating from Baptist Bible College in 1974, we came back to Temple to serve our internship, leading the College/Career class. We were approved as Baptist Bible Fellowship missionaries to Indonesia in 1976. We were there for 10 years and established two churches. In 1987, Don decided he wanted a divorce.

As BBFI does not allow divorced missionaries, I came back to Odessa, resigned as a missionary and found a job as a secretary with an insurance company. I became very active in the Singles Class, which was led by Dr. Griffin Jones at that time. However, I knew God had called me to full time service, so I prayed that I would be allowed to be in some type of ministry . In early 1989, Brother Jerry Thorpe asked me to research "Women's Ministry" and I started the Women's Ministry in May of that year. In October of 1989, Brother Jerry hired me as the Director of Women's Ministry on a part-time basis, & on April 1, 1991, I came on staff full-time and shortly after that also became the Director of Missions.

It is a real joy and privilege to be a part of this great church and especially this great staff.