About Our Leadership

We believe that the elder-led form of church governance is the biblical model set forth in the New Testament.  Elders are to be spiritually mature men with experience in the ministry so that they can help to lead the local congregation. Elders must be able to teach and meet the qualifications outlined in 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:5-9. The goal is to have spiritually mature and qualified men leading the church in addressing spiritual issues and corporate decision-making.

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Dr. Ottavio Palombaro, Pastor-Elect

We are excited to announce that the congregation of Theta Baptist Church recently called Dr. Ottavio Palombaro to be our new Senior Pastor. With the Lord’s blessing, Ottavio will begin his pastorate in June 2023. Born in Castiglione del Lago, Italy, and raised as a practicing Roman Catholic, Ottavio was saved by God’s grace in 2011. He holds a Th.D. in Historical Theology from the Free University of Amsterdam and an M.Div. in Theology from Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary. He will bring a rich ministerial and educational background to the church, with diverse experience in the United States and Europe. Ottavio deeply appreciates expository preaching and is passionate about seeing lives transformed by God’s word. We look forward to welcoming Ottavio, his wife Heidi, and their two children to our church family.

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Rick Martin, Elder

Rick has been an elder at Theta Baptist Church (TBC) since 2003 and is the primary teacher for the Adult Bible Study class. Originally from Claremore, OK, he graduated from Devry Institute of Technology in Irving, TX, with a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science for Business and was a mainframe computer programmer for many years. Rick and his wife Linda have been at TBC since 1998. They have been married since 1987 and have three adult children: Paul, Moriah, and Ian.