The Missouri Baptist Convention missionary staff makes up one team with one vision and one mission. Our vision is: Helping churches transform lives and communities with the gospel. Our mission is: Cooperating with Missouri Baptists to make disciples, multiply churches, and develop leaders.
Executive Office
Dr. Wes Fowler is Executive Director of the Missouri Baptist Convention. He directs the state’s missionary staff; administers Cooperative Program funds given by Missouri Baptist churches; serves as publisher of The Pathway, the official news journal of the MBC; and sets the state’s cooperative strategy for fulfilling the Acts 1:8 mission mandate.
Prior to his election by the MBC Executive Board in 2023, Fowler served for 12 years as senior pastor of First Baptist Church in Mayfield, Ky. He grew up in that church, and was saved and baptized there at the age of eight. He accepted the church’s call to return as senior pastor after serving as youth pastor at First Baptist Church, Valdosta, Ga., and senior pastor of First Baptist Church, Homerville, Ga.
In addition, Fowler served as chairman of the Board of Directors for Sunrise Children’s Services, Kentucky’s largest foster/residential childcare provider. He also served as president of the Kentucky Baptist Convention (2020-21); as a member of the Mission Board of the Kentucky Baptist Convention (2017-19); and as chairman for the search committee that brought Todd Gray to the KBC as executive director-treasurer in 2019. He also served on the SBC Committee on Committees in 2022.
Fowler earned a Bachelor of Arts in political science at Valdosta State University (2003); a Master of Divinity at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary (2007); and a Doctor of Ministry with an emphasis in expository preaching at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (2015). In 2022, Southern Seminary honored Fowler as Alumnus of the Year.
Fowler and his wife, Tara, married in 2004. They have three children: Brax, Bryley, and Pierre.
Rob Phillips serves as Associate Executive Director of the Missouri Baptist Convention. He is responsible for MBC messaging, web, video and graphic services, live event support, technology, and promotion of the Cooperative Program and Missouri Missions Offering.
He also leads a statewide apologetics ministry, speaking in churches and leading conferences on defending the Christian faith, and providing free downloadable resources for pastors and teachers at oncedelivered.net.
Phillips has extensive communications experience in business and Christian ministry and has served as a bi-vocational pastor. He holds a B.A. degree in journalism from Oklahoma Baptist University and is certified in Christian apologetics from the North American Mission Board.
He is the author of 12 books including: The Apologist’s Took Kit; What Every Christian Should Know about the Trinity; What Every Christian Should Know about Satan; and, most recently, What Every Christian Should Know about the Return of Jesus.
Phillips and his wife, Nancy, have two children and reside in Jefferson City, Mo.
Rob Phillips
Associate Executive Director
Missions Mobilization
Martin Winslow is the Team Leader of Missions Mobilization for the Missouri Baptist Convention. He also leads the Cross-Cultural-Collective in St. Louis through the St. Louis Metro Baptist Association. He formerly served full-time as the missions pastor for Canaan Baptist Church in St. Louis.
Winslow is the founder and president of Bethlehem Christian Academy. BCA starts Christian schools in hard-to-reach places around the world as a means of sharing the gospel and planting churches. BCA has partnerships in Senegal, Liberia, Zambia, Burundi, Malawi, India, and Mexico. These schools minister to more than 2,000 full-time students. He’s also the Director of Canaan Global, a ministry of Canaan Baptist Church that trains pastors internationally.
He holds a B.A. in Biblical Studies from SBU and a Master’s in Biblical Languages from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.
Winslow has been married to his high school sweetheart, Amy, for more than 25 years. He has five children: Noah, Anna, Emma, Laura, and Nati.
Martin Winslow
Team Leader
Church Renewal
Jim Misloski is the Church Renewal Team Leader for the Missouri Baptist Convention. He is responsible for equipping and strengthening today’s churches and church leaders; discovering the next generation of leaders and preparing them to serve; and mobilizing leaders for Kingdom service in every sphere of influence. He directs the MBC’s pastoral ministry, transitional pastor training, disaster relief training and deployment, church revitalization, and support events.
Prior to coming to the MBC in 2016, Misloski served as state director of missions for the Colorado Baptist General Convention. Before that, he served as church planting missionary for Longs Peak Baptist Association (Colo.), and as a church planter/pastor and discipleship/missions pastor in Colorado. He also has corporate experience, serving as senior brand manager for Group Publishing and, before that, vice president of creative services for Darcy, Masius, Benton & Bowles in St. Louis.
Misloski holds a Master of Divinity degree from Gateway Seminary (formerly Golden Gate Theological Seminary), and a B.A. degree in art/communication from Missouri State University. He and his wife, Paula, have three children.
Jim Misloski
Team Leader
Church Planting / Send Missouri
Jason Zellmer is a husband, father, pastor, and church planter. He has been serving in ministry for more than 20 years. Currently, he is the Director of Send Network Missouri and oversees the residency program at NorthRoad Church in Moscow Mills, Mo.
Zellmer and his wife also own and direct Redemption Ranch in Winfield, Mo., where they host camps, retreats and weddings year-round.
Zellmer holds a B.A. degree in Business Administration from Lindenwood University and has also studied at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.
Following graduation, he planted three churches in the greater St. Louis area. He and his wife, Heather, have six children. Together they share a passion for foster care/adoption and the outdoors.
Jason Zellmer Send Missouri
Resound Network
Buddy Funk has served in ministry for more than 30 years. He has served churches in Arkansas and Missouri. He is the Director of the Resound Network with a vision to see a movement of renewed churches resounding for the glory of God.
Funk earned a Bachelor of Arts in Christian Ministries at Southwest Baptist University; a Master of Divinity at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary; a Master of Theology at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary; and a Doctor of Ministry from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.
Funk and his wife, Casey have three children and one granddaughter.
Buddy Funk
Director
Disaster Relief
Gaylon Moss has served as the Disaster Relief Director for the Missouri Baptist Convention since July 2018. Prior to his work in Missouri, he served almost 20 years in the same role for the North Carolina Baptist Convention.
Moss’ work includes readiness, response, and recovery responsibilities through the effort of volunteers. Together, they seek to help churches transform lives and communities with the gospel by bringing help, hope, and healing.
Moss and his wife reside near Jefferson City and have three daughters. He holds a B.A. degree in Business Administration from Campbell University in Buies Creek, North Carolina, and Master of Divinity degree from Southwestern Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas.
Gaylon Moss
Director
Collegiate Ministry
Jerome Stockert has been part of collegiate campus ministry for more than 30 years, serving on campuses at Arizona State University, Arkansas State University, and, most recently, the University of Central Missouri.
He also served nine years as the Metro Collegiate Director in Pittsburgh, Penn., as a missionary through the North American Mission Board. In addition to collegiate ministry, Jerome served as a church planter/pastor in Bossier City, La.
Stockert holds a Master of Divinity degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and a B.A. degree in Biology from Arkansas State University. He and his wife, Andrea, have three children.
Jerome Stockert
Director
Chief Operations Officer
Paula Earls has been with the MBC since 2016. She joined the staff as the Administrative Assistant for Business Services, leaving a position as editor of the California Democrat, to seek to serve in ministry with her husband, Alan, who pastors and serves as the Director of Missions for the Concord Baptist Association.
Later, she was promoted to the role of Human Resource Director, and since then has become the Chief Operations Officer for the Convention, organizing the annual meeting, taking care of the insurance needs and staff of the MBC, and directing other services.
Alan and Paula met during college while she served as a summer missionary from Kentucky in the inner city of St. Louis and Alan served in his BSU. Yes, your CP dollars at work brought this couple together almost 40 years ago. They say serving the Lord together and putting Him first is the true key to a successful marriage. The Earls have two grown sons and three grandchildren.
Paula Earls
Chief Operations Officer
Chief Financial Officer
Samantha Spencer has been with the MBC since 2002 after working for the Missouri State Auditor’s Office upon graduation from Hannibal-LaGrange College. She joined the staff as the Accountant for the Business Services department and was later promoted to the Controller position in July 2012, and since then has been named Chief Financial Officer. Â
Spencer is responsible for overseeing all aspects of the organization’s financial health, including budgeting, financial planning, reporting, cash flow management, compliance with regulations, risk management, and ensuring the organization operates efficiently and sustainably by aligning financial practices with the MBC’s mission and vision.Â
Spencer holds a B.S. degree in Accounting and a B.S. degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in Finance. Spencer and her husband Steve live near Jefferson City and have four daughters and one grandson.
