Joseph Baxter

The Lord saved Joseph Baxter from his sin at the age of nineteen. After having received a Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) citation at seventeen and spending years of his young life dedicated to drugs and rock music, Joseph finally quit running from God and turned to Him in repentance. The Holy Spirit of God moved in and immediately began changing Joseph, making him a new creature in Christ Jesus.

The long hair became short as the Lord provided a well-paying job opportunity. The Lord dealt with his foul mouth through long hours of work with earplugs on a third-shift factory floor. The Lord revealed his need to faithfully attend church, but Joseph had little experience to go on other than two small country Southern Baptist churches where he had spent much of his elementary years. Joseph tried to attend but hoped for more.

Fortunately, Joseph’s older brother came home from the Marine Corps at this time. Newly saved Joseph may not have yet known how to find a good church, but he did remember hating to attend church whenever he visited his brother. What Joseph recognized now as Holy Spirit conviction in the preaching of God’s Word. Joseph went with his brother in the search for a godly church and ended up joining Berean Baptist Church in Springfield, Missouri, under pastor Leon Gray.

At Berean, Joseph attended Bible Institute and was ordained to the Gospel Ministry. He now pastors the Naples Independent Baptist Church in Naples, Florida (https://naplesbaptist.com). He and his wife Karis have six children and a wonderfully growing number of grandchildren.

Joseph works bi-vocationally with international corporations and federal regulators in cybersecurity for Operational Technology. He has used this experience to teach Technology and Internet Protection for Families. See his secular profile at https://www.linkedin.com/in/josephbaxter/