Pastor Phil Butler has been in the pastoral ministry for over 25 years. He has served as Senior Pastor at First Baptist Church, Colfax since November of 1997.

Pastor Phil was raised on a farm near Bristow, Iowa. His parents are both Christians and endeavored to raise his sister and him in a Christian home. Through the influence of his parents, he accepted Jesus Christ as his Savior at an early age. Later, in 1968, he made a public profession of his faith at Clear Lake Baptist Bible Camp and was baptized at his home church - Calvary Baptist Church of Greene, Iowa.

Pastor Phil graduated from Northwestern College in Roseville, MN in 1979 with a Bachelor of Arts degree. He received his Master of Arts degree from the Moody Graduate School in Chicago, IL in 1994.

He loves to preach and teach the Word of God and shepherd the flock. He is honored to be the Senior Pastor at First Baptist. A believer in the primacy of expository preaching, Pastor Phil is currently preaching through the Gospel of John on Sunday mornings.

For fun he enjoys collecting toy John Deere tractors and school buses, and he likes watching old classic TV shows on DVD, and listening to the great music of the 1960’s and 1970’s.

Pastor Phil is married to Jeannette for over 29 years. They have three adult children (Holly and husband Ryan, Melinda, and Dale) all living in Omaha, NE, plus one grandson named Trey they are learning to spoil.

His favorite verse in the Bible is Philippians 4:4 - “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!”

Jeriah Shank
Youth Pastor

Pastor Jeriah Shank is our Youth Pastor. He has been at First Baptist since July of 2006. He currently is also a student at Faith Baptist Bible College in Ankeny, IA.

Pastor Jeriah grew up in northern Iowa and trusted Jesus Christ as his personal Savior when he was 16. At age 17, he committed his life to full time Christian service.

Pastor Jeriah loves working with students, teaching and discipling them. He counts it a privilege to serve at First Baptist Church. For fun, he studies a lot, loves wrestling, enjoys playing and listening to music, especially the David Crowder Band, and is even learning to like the old music of Pastor Butler. He also enjoys snowboarding and wakeboarding.

Pastor Jeriah’s favorite verse is 2 Corinthians 5:9 “Therefore, we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him.”

Carmen Cratty
Church Secretary

Carmen Cratty is the office secretary at First Baptist Church in Colfax, Iowa. Her position is a new one, it was created in March of 2006, and she had the good fortune of getting the job. It is a blessing for her to work at her church, and she loves it!

Carmen became a Christian on February 22, 1979. Turning 20 in March, she was at a stranger’s home looking at it because it was for sale by owner. She had been going to Riverside Baptist Church in Harriman, Tennessee for several months, but had not made a decision to accept Jesus into her heart as her Savior. This stranger was very excited about the Lord and ended up leading Carmen to Christ.

She did not buy the house, but received the free gift of salvation instead! It was very cool. Her friends at Riverside were very excited for her, and she grew a great deal spiritually with them for several years until she moved back to Iowa, where she had grown up. She will always have deep love for the people at her first church, they will always be part of her church family.

Carmen and her husband, John, have been members of First Baptist Church in Colfax since 1987. Their two children, Toni and Bradley, grew up in this church and became members as well and it has always been their home. They also have four grandchildren (by Toni and her husband, David Hostetter), Kennedi Shayne, Dakota Rene’, Ilia Brittan Nikkal and Elias Bradley.

Their son, Bradley, and his wife, Tracee, were both in the Air Force and did not have any children. They both died in 2004 and are sorely missed, but they are with Jesus now and knowing that helps their family a lot.

John and Carmen enjoy traveling with their friends, riding their Harley's and spending as much time as they can with their grandchildren. Carmen watches Elias on her days off and loves every minute of it. Carmen also enjoys riding her horse, Ice, when she can.

Carmen’s favorite verse is Isaiah 40:31 - “But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.”

Since Bradley died, another favorite verse is Psalm 34:18 - “The Lord is close to the broken hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”

Bob Maher
Church Custodian

Our church custodian is Bob Maher. Bob has served in this role since August, 1995, as a part time church employee.

Bob has been a part of our church family for over 35 years. He is married to Lila for 45 years and they have four grown children and six grandchildren.

Over the years Bob has been employed by Iowa Power, Mid American Energy, The Monroe Company, and the Colfax-Mingo School District. He is currently retired, raises sheep on the family farm, is a self employed electrician, and, of course, our church environmental engineering technician (custodian).

Bob’s favorite verse of Scripture is Philippians 4:19 “And my God will supply all your needs according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”