Dr. Danny Owens
Senior Pastor: was called to West Hampton Baptist Church, October 2002.
Danny is a 1976 Phi Theta Kappa graduate of Bluefield college with an A.S. and a
1978 graduate with a B.S. in Behavioral Science. He graduated from Southern Seminary
in Louisville Kentucky in 1980 with an M.Div, and in 1992 with a D.Min. degree.
He is an outdoorsman and an avid backpacker of the Appalachian Trail. In August of 2007 he finished hiking the entire trail of 2,175 miles from Springer Mountain near Gainesville, Geogia to the Summit of Katahdin Mountain in Baxter State Park near Millinocket, Maine.
Family: Married to Shelia a 1976 graduate of Bluefield State College with an
Associate of Secretarial Science degree. The nest is empty! Shelia loves shopping, the beach and the tropics.
Larry Smith
Associate Pastor of Music and Worship:
Larry began his ministry at West Hampton Baptist Church on June 1, 1976. Originally from High Point,
North Carolina, Larry earned a Bachelor of Music degree from Mars Hill College
in 1966 and a Master of Church Music degree from Southwestern Baptist
Theological Seminary in 1969. He also completed Clinical Pastoral Education at
The School of Pastoral Care at North Carolina Baptist Hospital and is a certified
teacher/trainer in Evangelism Explosion.
Previous experience as Minister of Music and Youth was gained at Del Ray Baptist in Alexandria, VA,
and First Baptist, Altavista, VA. While at Del Ray Baptist, Larry met and married Ginny in 1972.
Interests and hobbies include running, cycling, hiking, reading, stereo equipment and music listening.
Brad Hill
Associate Pastor of Deaf:
Brad came to West Hampton Baptist Church in 1975.
He served as a lay person and became involved with the deaf ministry in 1982.
From Pineville, WV, he attended
Bluefield College
where he met his wife Esther and earned his Bachlor of Science Degree in Christian Ministry.
He began serving as Associate Pastor of Deaf in 1998.
He is bi-vocational, working full time for Intergraph Corporation, developing ship design and full lifecycle support software
for international shipyards.
Family: Married to Esther 1975. They have two children, Jonathan ('76) and Adam ('79) and two granddaughters
Brian Adams
Pastor of Youth:
Brian began his ministry at West Hampton Baptist Church on June 6, 2004. He is a 2003 graduate of Christopher
Newport University and is currently pursuing his Master of Divinity at the John Leland
Center for Theological Studies. Brian had previously spent 18 years as a member of First Baptist
Church, NN. His ministry has consisted of working with youth and young singles (college & military).
Brian has spent many years serving God through music in a praise band and the former rock band, Blind Sight.
He is fulfilling his call by working with youth in sharing the love of Christ and furthering the Kingdom of God.
Brian enjoys writing, playing and listening to music, watching movies, and playing sports,
such as basketball, football, and ping-pong (or table tennis - whichever you prefer calling it).
Family: Married to Michelle 2007.