Elders
Troy Wilkinson
Troy is First Baptist Church Garden Lakes’ lead pastor. He is married to his beautiful wife Deanna and they have 7 wonderful children and 10 equally wonderful grandchildren. Troy has earned a Master of Arts in Ministry degree from Phoenix Seminary, a Master in Theological Studies degree, emphasizing Biblical Counseling from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and is currently completing a Master of Divinity degree from Phoenix Seminary. He loves to read the Puritans, the Reformers, church history, and all things related to expository preaching. He is a passionate fan of the Nebraska Cornhuskers and also an avid hunter, although he readily admits that he is terrible at it. Troy’s desire is to see First Baptist Church Garden Lakes thrive in holiness and be impassioned disciples of Jesus Christ.
Max Beal
Max became a member of FBC Garden Lakes in 1982. Max is married to his lovely wife, Sherry of 47 years and they have one son, Cory. Max has served in church leadership for many years and became an elder of FBC Garden Lakes in 2012. Max has been teaching adult Bible Study and Sunday School for over 30 years and he continues to be active in this role. Max was born in Tennessee where he attended and graduated from the University of Tennessee. The Beals relocated to Arizona in 1977. After 42 years working at Lockheed Martin, Max retired in 2011. Max and Sherry enjoy spending time with family, friends and their church family. They live in Litchfield Park, AZ.
Carl Kennedy
Deacons
Kevin Rivers
Ben Hicks
Ben has been a member of First Baptist Church Garden Lakes since 2014. He is married to his lovely wife, Corrie and they have 3 grown boys. Ben has served as a deacon at FBC Garden Lakes since 2016 and he takes an active role with maintaining the church grounds. Ben and Corrie enjoy traveling and spending time with family and friends. Ben and Corrie are our resident foodies and are often seen eating at different restaurants. They live here in Avondale, AZ.
Don Cozby