Biographical Information
Joseph Kelly (J. K.) Minton was born in Little Rock, Arkansas. He is married to the former Ruth Elliott of Chase City, Virginia. They have four children, eighteen grandchildren, five great grandchildren (and counting).
Reared in a Southern Baptist Church in rural Arkansas, near Little Rock, Dr. Minton accepted Christ as his personal Lord and Savior through the ministry of the Crystal Hill Baptist Church. As a teenager, he served this church in various capacities, including Worship Leader and Choir Director.
After graduation from high school and one year at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, Dr. Minton received an appointment to the United States Naval Academy (USNA), Class of 1966. After graduation from USNA with a Bachelor of Science degree in Nuclear Science, he served for several years as an officer in the Navy Nuclear Submarine Force and qualified as a naval nuclear engineer.
While serving as Chief Engineer on a nuclear submarine, Dr. Minton responded to God’s call to pastoral ministry. He resigned his active commission in the Navy and entered Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (SWBTS) at Fort Worth, Texas.
In 1977, Dr. Minton graduated from SWBTS with a Master of Divinity degree and accepted the pastorate of the Lazybrook Baptist Church in Houston, Texas. During his seventeen-year ministry at this church, Dr. Minton earned the Doctor of Ministry degree from SWBTS in 1986.
In 1995, Dr. Minton was appointed by the North American Mission Board to serve as the Executive Director of the Interstate Baptist Association (IBA), Portland, Oregon. The IBA is a fellowship of approximately 70 Southern Baptist churches and missions with offices in Portland, Oregon, that serves the thirteen counties that include Portland, Oregon; Vancouver, Washington; the Pacific coast; and the Columbia River Gorge.
In August 1998, Dr. Minton was called to serve as the Director of Missions (DOM) of the Bluebonnet Baptist Association (BBA) with offices in New Braunfels, TX. The BBA is a fellowship of approximately 75 Southern Baptist churches and missions primarily serving an area that includes the “I-35 corridor” between the cities of San Antonio and Austin.
In January 2010, Dr. Minton retired as DOM of BBA and was called to serve on staff at BBA in a part-time ministry as Church Health Consultant, responsible for both assisting churches and coaching pastors in BBA.
In September 2010, Dr. Minton was called to serve in a part-time staff ministry as the Teaching Pastor of The Country Church, Marion, Texas.
Dr. Minton serves as the Executive Director, Church Health Ministries, a Texas non-profit 501c (3) corporation, responsible to counsel, assess, train, assist, and coach pastors and church leaders in developing a strategic process for improving church health.
While serving in the ministry, Dr. Minton continued active service in the United States Naval Reserve and after 23 years of service, retired with the rank of Commander, United States Navy.
