Francis joins MBC staff as worship specialist
June 6, 2006
JEFFERSON CITY – John Francis, minister of music at First Baptist Church, Troy, has accepted the call to become the Missouri Baptist Convention’s (MBC) new worship specialist.
He will join the MBC staff June 19. The hiring of Francis fills a nine-month vacancy caused by the departure of Bill Shiflett who left to become minister of music at First Baptist Church, Nexa, Kan.
Francis recently celebrated his sixth year serving First Baptist. Born in Monticello, Ky., he married his high-school sweetheart, Kimberly. They have two children: Madelynn, 17 and Tristan, 15.
He earned a musical performance degree from Eastern Kentucky University, specializing in trumpet. It was while in school that he began leading worship part-time. He was ordained into the ministry in 1997 and came to Missouri in 2000. That is just a small portion of his diverse resume, which also includes acting as program director for a classical music radio station and playing trumpet on the soundtrack of the epic Civil War movie, Gettysburg. He writes and arranges brass music for a publishing company in Kansas and is the brass director for the Missouri Music Men, a group of Baptist Ministers of music from across the state.
Francis said he is excited to help churches and individuals move toward a true worship lifestyle.
“Worship is not something you sing once in a while,” he said. “True worship is a lifestyle. It is living for the Lord with every breath. Psalms 29, 95 and 96; these are commandments, not suggestions.”