Dr. Dan Murray
Senior Pastor
drdan@fbcstephenville.org

Dan and his wife, Arlene, both grew up in the Houston area.  After serving several churches in different parts of Texas, they came to Stephenville in 1986 when Dan assumed the pastorate of First Baptist Church.  Dan and Arlene raise and show American Quarter Horses, and own an assortment of other animals on their Stephenville farm.

Arlene has a Bachelor’s Degree in Business from Tarleton State University and works as the Assistant Director of Financial Aid at TSU.  Dan holds a Bachelor’s Degree from Houston Baptist University and the Master of Divinity and Doctor of Ministry degrees from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.

Arlene grew up in a Christian home and received Christ as her personal Savior when she was five years old.  Dan was not active in church as a child, but came to know Christ at the age of 19 through the influence of friends.

“The greatest joy of my ministerial experience has been serving as pastor of First Baptist Church, Stephenville.  This is not only a great town but a wonderful, loving church family.  God has done some incredible things in this church but I truly believe that the best is yet to come.

The church has a strong presence in the community and people from every walk of life call FBC ‘home.’  Grace Place, which is the benevolence ministry of the church, is an example of how the church endeavors to be the presence of Christ in the community. Grace Place provides tangible help to people in need of assistance, offering a listening ear, caring heart, a helping hand, and a Gospel witness.

Personally, I enjoy working with Tarleton Students.  For the past two years I have been Chaplain for the Men’s and Women’s Basketball Teams and the Women’s Volleyball Team.  I also work with athletic staff and led a weekly Bible Study for coaches. 

Our church’s mission statement, ‘Connecting ordinary people to extraordinary life in Christ’ expresses my personal philosophy for ministry.  I want to help connect all people to a life changing relationship with Jesus Christ.”