Associate Pastor of Youth - Tom Papez

Like most people, Tom was born wet and upside-down but later devoted his life to living right side up after his acceptance of Jesus Christ during his junior year in High School. While playing collegiate football at Central Missouri State and earning a double major in English and Social Studies, Tom served as President of the Fellowship of Christian Athlete chapter. Tom taught and coached high school in Knob Noster, Missouri and served as Youth Pastor at First Baptist Church of Windsor prior to moving to Wentzville in June of 2001. He is currently serving Christ in a multi-faceted role including teaching high school at Wentzville Timberland, serving as a football and track coach at Wentzville Timberland, and youth-pastoring at First Baptist Church of Lake St. Louis.

Underneath his "enthusiastic kid stuck in the body of an adult" image is Tom's passion for connecting students to Jesus Christ. "Only three things last forever," states Tom, "God, God's Word, and the souls of mankind. Since people can only make a difference in the latter of those three, I believe it should be the goal of every believer to spend their entire life working to add to God's kingdom." Though Tom has been excited about the phenomenal success of the youth group, he continually challenges students to increase individual growth and deepen their relationship with Christ through quiet time.

Tom and his wife, Lori, have five children, Victoria, Bradley, Jacob, Julia and Hannah.