Brad grew up in a tiny town in western Oklahoma where hunting and fishing was a way of life. However, Brad didn’t give his life to Christ until he was a sophomore in high school. The Lord called Brad into youth ministry and for the last twelve years, Brad served in Oklahoma as a youth pastor as a licensed and ordained minister. Brad used his love for the outdoors to minister to students as well as others. Brad founded Final Descent Outdoors as an outreach in his church. It grew from that into a national TV show that is in forty million homes in North America. Brad, his wife April, and four children Matthias, Ava, Josiah, and Sterling have taken a step of faith and have decided to follow the Lord and pursue Final Descent Outdoors an outdoor ministry full time.  Brad also authors bible studies and other material for the outdoorsman.

Joe Ligon will be the first to tell you that he doesn’t deserve to be where he is.  He grew up in Seminole County in Oklahoma.  He didn’t grow up going to church (at all).  But he did grow up with a notion that he wanted to be a school teacher.  

Joe completed his degree at East Central University and received his first teaching job at Konawa, OK.  He had accomplished his life’s goal but felt quite unfulfilled.  It wasn’t long, that as a 22 year old man, Joe was saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.

Within a year, Joe had accepted the Lord’s call on his life to serve in ministry.  He would spend the next 19 years in various roles in public education even as he served in a variety of bi-vocational positions in several churches in Oklahoma.

During that time, Joe met and married the love of his life, Gayla.  They have two sons: Andrew who works in computer programming; and, Aaron who works in the construction industry.  Both boys were married in 2017.

In 1999, First Baptist Marlow called Joe to be their senior pastor.  It was his first full-time ministry position.  The church allowed him to attend Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary where he would earn a Doctor of Educational Ministry.  

Over the years that Joe served at First Baptist Marlow, the church grew, was active on the mission field, was very involved in local ministry projects, helped plant churches in Phoenix, Arizona, expanded facilities, and launched two satellite campuses.  

Joe has a heart for churches and the pastors that serve them.  He is particularly passionate about trying to encourage pastors that serve in the small towns and rural areas of our state.  And he continues to focus on learning to be a better leader.

God has given Joe many opportunities to serve in his community, his association, his state convention, and, even the Southern Baptist Convention.  In fact, in March 2019, Joe resigned his position at First Baptist Marlow and took on the position of Senior Associate Executive Director of the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma.  In this new role, he gets to work with the great men and women of the convention to encourage even more pastors and help even more Oklahoma Southern Baptist churches.

Joe will be the first to tell you that all of this has nothing to do with his abilities.  It is all about the amazing, marvelous grace of a great God who has chosen to bless him.

Rev. Michael M. McDaniel is Pastor of the Northeast Missionary Baptist Church (NMBC) located in Forest Park, Oklahoma. During his fourteen years as Shepherd of NMBC, God has given Rev. McDaniel a vibrant vision for the church that is centered on worship and optimizing the gifts and talents of all the ministries and members. 

Rev. McDaniel began his ministerial journey in 1993 at St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church, under the leadership of Rev. Kim Brown. Soon after, he united with Tabitha Baptist Church under the leadership of Rev. J. L. Mitchell, where he received his license to preach the Gospel in 1994. In 2002, he became ordained at the St. Andrew Church in Tulsa, OK, under the leadership of Rev. Dr. Bertrand M. Bailey, Sr. He went on to serve as Pastor of the First Missionary Baptist Church in Muskogee. During that time, he also worked as the Associate Athletic Director of Academics at Oral Roberts University for ten years. 

Pastor McDaniel earned a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of Oklahoma in 1997 and a master’s degree in Public School Administration from Oral Roberts University. He is a graduate of John Marshall High School in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, where he developed into an outstanding student athlete. He competed and excelled in football, basketball, and track. As a result of his successful athletic career, Rev. McDaniel earned a full football scholarship at the University of Oklahoma where he received several awards which included: Honorable Mention All Big-8, All Big-12 Conference Wide Receiver, and the recipient of the Don Key Award. Rev. McDaniel was later picked up by the San Francisco 49ers as a free agent. 

Rev. McDaniel has been privileged to serve in various capacities. He currently serves as Oklahoma Baptist State Convention Congress President, Omega Psi Phi Eta Iota Chapter Chaplain, First Tee Board member, and Metro Tech Foundation Board member. He was also the recipient of the 2022 John A. Reed, Jr. Spirit of the Community Award and the 2022 Juneteenth Music & Arts Festival Rita Washington Soul Awakening Public Servant of the Year Award. 

In the spring of 2021, Pastor McDaniel added the title of author to his list of accomplishments when published his book Things I Think You Ought to Know: From a Father to His Son. The book is a devotional that provides 27 guiding principles for cultivating deeper relationships between fathers and their sons. 

Pastor McDaniel met and married Dr. Kartina McDaniel in 1994. The McDaniel’s are the proud parents of three children: Tevin, Jaden, and Leeya.

For the past four years I have had the privilege to serve as the Worship Pastor at Community Baptist in Coweta, OK. My greatest honor has been being married to my wife of five years, Alix. Together we have the most incredible daughters, Georgia, and Norah. I love spending time with my family and friends, drinking all the coffee, and rooting for my Chicago Cubs. My prayer for worship is that we would know God truly and out of the overflow of our heart, respond to him for who He is and what he has done for us. “Let the word of Christ dwell richly among you, in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another through psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.” Colossians 3:16.