Waylan Owens arrived as our pastor in June of 2022 following the long and fruitful tenure of former pastor, David Meeks. Pastor Owens is married to Betsy, and they have four adult children, Blayne, Joshua, Grace, and Mary, one daughter-in-law, Cari, one son-in-law, Ryan, and three grandchildren who live in North Carolina with their parents, Blayne and Cari.
He has served as pastor of churches in Mississippi, Alaska, and North Carolina, and Texas and as a professor and an administrator in seminaries in North Carolina and Texas. He and Betsy met and married while living outside New Orleans, where he attended seminary, completing his Ph.D. in Old Testament and Hebrew.
Both our pastor and his wife have always had a heart for international missions, but God’s call on their lives has been primarily in the United States. Born in Mobile, Alabama, Pastor Waylan lived in Memphis, Tennessee and the Florida Panhandle. The youngest of six children, he played football, baseball, and basketball growing up and traveled to six European countries as a teenager with his oldest brother, Ernie, an Air Force officer, and Ernie’s wife, Kay. As an adult, he has traveled on mission to numerous countries from Mexico to Australia, including six countries in Africa and also Israel where he participated in an archaeological dig.
An expository preacher, Pastor Owens likes to preach verse by verse and passage by passage through books of the Bible. Using God’s definitions of the words we use is very important according to our pastor, as the world is constantly redefining words in ways that undermine the truth of God’s Words and the message of the gospel of Christ. He teaches that, as Christians, we must use God’s definitions, seeking to maintain His will and truth in all we think and do and in how we speak.
A Word From Our Pastor
Welcome to the family that is called Bethlehem Baptist Church. We are on a mission from God. Throughout Christian history, this mission has been called the Great Commission, and Jesus, to whom had been given all authority both in Heaven and on earth, described it like this: Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. (See Matthew 28:18-20 and Acts 1:8.)
We pray that our Lord would speak to you clearly as you engage with us through our website or social media or in person. Let me personally invite you to join us for worship, for Bible study, and for prayer. Our church is a welcoming church that loves to encourage others and spends much time in prayer.
If you are certain that you have eternal life through faith in and submission to our Lord, Jesus Christ, we pray our Lord will show you whether you should join us in His mission with a people called Bethlehem. If you are not certain that you have eternal life, we ask and hope that you will give us the opportunity to open God’s Word with you and show you that God loves you and that He waits to forgive you and to enter into an eternal relationship of love with you. If you will give us that chance, please visit our services or use this link to find out how to send us an email, and we will be thrilled to open God’s Word with you.
Meet Other BBC Leaders
Joyce Shurtleff
Church and Financial Secretary
Roy Littrell
Servant Leadership
Brian Bailey
Facilities and Properties Coordinator
Dianne Schmidt
Fellowship Coordinator
Preschool Leadership Team
Beverly Littrell, Rhonda Hay, Genora Boone, Jodie Perrin
Children Leadership Team
Betsy Owens, Kim McKinney
Youth & Young Adult Leadership Team
Brian and Amy Bailey, Wes and Sarah Worthington