Dr. Eric Hankins

Lead Pastor

Dr. Hankins started his ministry at First Baptist Fairhope December 1, 2016. He comes to First Baptist Fairhope from FBC Oxford Mississippi where he served as Pastor for 12 years. He is a native of Lake Charles, Louisiana. Dr. Hankins has served churches in Texas, Mississippi, Louisiana and now Alabama. He is a graduate of Louisiana College, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary ( M.Div.) and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (Ph.D.). His ministry vision is to shepherd the local church in fulfilling her world-changing, disciple-making kingdom purpose through expository preaching, Spirit-directed leading and a shepherd’s care of individuals and families. He is married to his 7th grade sweetheart, Janet, and they have three children: J.D (married to Auguste), Emily (married to Nick Ellis) and Jake who is  a student at Fairhope High School. 2021 brought the Hankins’ their first grandchild, a girl, Isla Sue.

Rev. Brent Shaw

Administrator 

Rev. Brent Shaw began his ministry at First Baptist Church Fairhope, August 1, 2002. He served previously on the First Baptist Staff in the 80s as Minister of Youth. Brent served First Baptist Church in Dothan for 10 years prior to returning to Fairhope. Brent’s wife is Tammy and they have two girls: Lauren (Hardman) and Lindsey, and two grandchildren: Ann Waverly and Jack.

Rev. Shawn Trotter

Discipleship Pastor 

Rev. Shawn Trotter began serving in 2018 as our Discipleship Pastor while he finished up seminary. In 2019 he became our full-time Discipleship Pastor, relieving Brent Shaw of those education responsibilities. . Shawn and his wife, Valerie, live here in Fairhope and have four children. 

Rev. Robert Seaborn

Senior Adult/Congregational Care Pastor 

Robert and his wife Letia have been members of First Baptist Church for 25 years. During that time, they have both served faithfully in a variety of areas of our church. Robert has been a deacon and Sunday School teacher. Years ago, the Lord gave him a passion for missions and he has played a key role in organizing mission work in the Yucatan Peninsula and Haiti. He served as a member of the Board of Trustees at the University of Mobile for eight years. He also served as an adjunct professor in the School of Business there. In 2018, he surrendered to ministry at First Baptist and was licensed and ordained here. In 2019, he began e210 Ministries with a focus on corporate and hospital chaplaincy, and he has done a great deal of training in those areas. He serves as a Chaplain for several businesses and Bayside Academy. Before surrendering to ministry, he enjoyed a successful career in banking, rising to the position of bank president. He graduated from Auburn with a B.S. in Finance and M.B.A from Samford.

Rev. John Baldwin

Worship Pastor

Rev. John Baldwin has been serving as Minister of Music since 1988. He served previously in Florida and Alaska. John’s wife is Cyndee and they have three  married girls: Ashleigh Barkley (Drew), Caroline Brown (Craig) and Janna Schmidt (Chase) and five grandchildren.

Rev. R Smith

Student Pastor 

Ryan has been working with students over the past ten years as a lay leader in churches from Georgia & Alabama. He joined the FBC Staff in  2008. He has also served as Student Worship Leader at Eagles Landing First Baptist Church in Georgia. Ryan has a passion for students and desires to lead them to a deeper knowledge of God by creating Bible Study opportunities coupled with recreational events and relevant worship experiences. Ryan also leads worship at our 11:00am service. His wife is Amy and they have two children: Ellie, a freshman in college and Tyler a freshman at Fairhope High. 

Rev. Kevin Nelson

Children’s Pastor 

Kevin takes care of our children’s ministry needs and the needs of young families at First Baptist. He and his wife Leigh are parents to Kevin Jr. (K2), an 11th grader.

Jennifer Warren

Preschool Director 

Jennifer oversees our preschool ministry part time and works closely with our Minister to Children & Families, Kevin Nelson to offer quality events and care for parents and preschoolers.

Sharon Pippin

Communications Director

Kay Gaddy

Financial Assistant

LaSha Powell

Discipleship Assistant

Jennifer Coulter

Associate Pastor/Student Pastor Assistant

Delores Lund

Children’s Ministry Assistant

Elaine Beech

Receptionist/Pastor’s Assistant

Laureen Davis

Music Assistant

Dee Pace

Children’s Music Associate

Travis Carr

Audio and Light Engineer

Laurie Jensen

The Learning Tree Director

Sandi Williamson

Housekeeping Director