Meet Our Staff

Dr. Randall Wallace
Pastor

My philosophy of ministry is comprised of three elements: Calling, gifts and relationships. It is my calling that gives me the authority to present myself as God’s ambassador. Jesus walked the seashore and called fishermen to become fishers of men. They laid down their nets and their lives to follow Him. I know that the voice of God speaks in the hearts of people to move them into His service. The same Jesus that moved Paul into His kingdom work moved me to serve Him. There is no other reason that a person may present himself as the spokesperson of God. God has a plan for each individual and He has spoken in my life to set me aside for His intentions and purposes.

I believe that those He calls He also gifts. He gives different gifts to different people, but everyone has a gift for ministry. I believe that all gifts are a manifestation of the Holy Spirit that God places in the heart of every believer at conversion. These gifts are found in the Bible and are different from talents. Gifts are the motivation for service, and talents are the statement of those gifts. I believe my spiritual gift is mercy. As pastor I express this gift in a manner consistent with my calling.

Relationships come to play in the application of ministry. I believe that my greatest reward is found in letting Jesus move through me into the lives of other people. It is through relationships that people know how much I care. It is through relationships that people sense my sincerity. Evangelism works best through relationships. Discipleship performed through relationships creates friendships that last for eternity. The church is strengthened by love, and love is expressed through relationships. Jesus gave this model to us. He preached to the masses, but changed the world with twelve disciples. My call gives me the authority to minister, my gift gives me the ability to minister and my relationships are the avenue of my ministry.

I have been married to my wife Patty for 24 years and we have 4 sons. I am a graduate of Baylor university, Southwestern Seminary, and earned a Doctorate at Truett Seminary.  I have been in vocational ministry for 28 years.

Tim McKeown
Minister of Education and Administration

Tim McKeown has been in the vocational ministry since 1984.  Before coming to Killeen, he served at churches in Tyler, Brownsville and two in Parker County. Tim responded to God’s call to the ministry while in high school, earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Texas Tech University and a master’s degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth.
Tim and his wife Melissa were high school sweethearts and have four children, Terrynce Caleb, Marshall, Hannah and Rachel. He and his family have a heart for evangelism and he has participated in ministry in Mexico, Guatemala, Scotland, Malawi, as well as Illinois, California, Utah, Idaho, Louisiana and Texas. Tim’s journey of a lifetime was in 2004 when he was able to go to Israel, seeing the very birthplace of the Christian faith.

“My life goal is to glorify God through equipping the church for the work of the ministry (Eph. 4:12). My life verse is Galatians 2:20: ‘I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I but Christ lives through me and the life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me.’  My prayer is that God would graciously use me here at Killeen to oversee a tremendous equipping, mentoring, and sending center from our church to around the world.”

Rief Kessler
Minister of Music

Rief Kessler has been serving in vocational ministry since 2002 and came to First Baptist Church in the summer of 2011 after serving at churches in Fort Worth and Arlington.  He is a graduate of Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama, and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth.  Rief has truly found his calling in worship ministry and, above all else, desires to lead people to “meet God face to face: human to Creator and sinner to Savior”, a statement that he wrote in 2001 before he began his first ministry position.  His favorite passage of scripture directly follows the great Hall of Faith chapter in Hebrews which challenges us to “throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and run with perseverance the race marked out for us.”

Rief and his wife, April, are both transplants to Texas from the east coast that finally met in Fort Worth years ago.  Although they have found a home and people that they love west of the Mississippi River, they contend that the SEC is the greatest football conference in history and every hot dog should have slaw on it.  Rief and April were blessed with their firstborn son, Caden, “Special K,” in October of 2011.

Matthew Cornelius
Minister of Youth

Matt is from Dallas, Texas. He graduated from Baylor University in 1999 with a Bachelor of Arts in History and Political Science. He married his wife, Kayla, in May of 2000. Matt began working with youth in 2000 and received a Master of Arts in Christian Education from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Matt served at the First Baptist Church of Eagle River, Alaska from 2004-2008. Matt is the proud father of three beautiful girls.