Our Staff
Senior Pastor, Paul Sorber
Pastor Paul Sorber grew up in upstate New York as the youngest of six children. He was blessed to be part of a family that loved the Lord and served Him in various ministries in the local church.
Paul attended Baptist Bible College and Seminary as well as Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He holds a Master Degree in ministry and looks forward to, one day, completing his doctorate.
Paul has been married to Brenda, his former high school sweetheart for 23 years, and God has blessed them with four awesome children – Jordan (19), Heidi (17), Ben (14), and Kimberlee (8).
Pastor’s interests outside of his family and ministry involve various sports and classic cars (especially his 1968 Olds Cutlass convertible), and great relationships with friends. He has served in local churches in Pennsylvania and Ohio before moving to Florida in 1996. For the past 12 years he has ministered at West Pines Baptist Church in Lake Worth, Florida, and has enjoyed seeing God do some amazing things. Even with all he has accomplished, Paul still believes the best day for this church are still ahead.
The priorities for Pastor Paul’s ministry at West Pines involve people, preaching and planning.
Worship and Christian Education Pastor,
Jeff Nilius
Pastor Jeff Nilius graduated from Faith Baptist Bible College and Baptist Bible Seminary. He has been serving at West Pines Baptist Church since 2000. He previously was Pastor at First Baptist Church in Elyria, Ohio. He has served in full time ministry for 23 years. Pastor Nilius and Sandy, his wife of 17 years, have 3 children, Andrew (15), Joshua (14), and Abigail (11).
Youth Pastor, Mike Dawson
Pastor Mike Dawson, a West Palm Beach native, attended Palm Beach Community College and Baptist College of Florida. He earned his Master of Divinity from Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary. Pastor Dawson has been serving West Pines Baptist Church’s youth and their parents since 2006.
Community Outreach Pastor, Scott Conner
Pastor Scott Conner grew up moving around the state of Michigan, but considers Traverse City his home. He is the oldest of six and is very close to his family. Pastor Scott has served in ministry for many years. Some of the churches he has served in include Heritage Baptist, PA; North Valley Baptist Chruch Plant, PA; and Starkey Road Baptist Church, FL. He is a 2nd Lieutenant in the United States Air Force serving as a Chaplian Candidate. He earned a B.A. from Baptist Bible College and his Master of Divinity from Baptist Bible Seminary. Scott and his wife, Leah, have a daughter, Dallace Grace. Scott enjoys water sports, flying, fishing and riding his motorcycle in his spare time. His greatest joy is seeing people come to know the Lord as their personal Savior. He believes that fulfilling the great commission is our greatest task as Christians. He is passionate about encouraging his brothers and sisters in Christ to share their gift, Jesus Christ, with neighbors, co-workers and anyone God places in their path.
New Harvest Baptist Church Plant Pastor, Sam Jay
Pastor Sam Jay grew up the son of an Air Force officer living in Colorado, California, Nebraska, Alabama, Virginia, Massachusetts, and Ohio. The youngest of three children, Sam enjoyed being raised in a heritage of faith.
Sam received his Bachelor of Arts from Cedarville University in 1999, and a Masters of Divinity from Liberty University in 2007.
Sam has been married to the love of his life, Stephanie, for eight years. They are very thankful for their three blessings- Kaylee, Kristen, and Kyle. Sam enjoys relaxing with his wife, three young children, and friends. Pastor Sam served at West Pines in the roles of Student Ministry and Outreach from 1999-2006. Pastor Sam has been serving in the role of lead pastor of a new church plant called New Harvest Baptist church located in Loxahatchee, Florida, since 2007. West Pines is Sam’s sending church.
Pastor Sam hopes to see twenty-five new churches planted in the state of Florida, as well as an institute for church planting developed in Palm Beach County over the next fifty years.
Vida Nueva, Spanish Ministry Pastor,
Carlos Sexton
Carl and Lois Sexton have been missionaries with the Association of Baptists for World Evangelism since 1984. They served as church planters in the country of Argentina for 15 years. They have three children, of which two were born in Argentina. Caleb is 19, Mark is 17 and Nicolas is 12. The Sextons have helped start two churches in the interior of the province of Buenos Aires and three churches in the suburbs of the capital city of Buenos Aires, Argentina. They recently left the San Miguel Baptist Church in the hands of national believers and with a national pastor. This church has assisted in starting two other churches as well.
While reporting to one of our supporting churches in Florida during a furlow, West Pines Baptist Church, the Lord gave us a glimpse of the new assignment and the reason for the change in fields. After we had shared with Pastor Sorber that God seemed to be leading us to not return to Argentina, he shared with us his burden for the growing group of Spanish speaking people who are un-reached with the Gospel in that part of Florida. As of September 15, 2006 our Iglesia Bautista Vida Nueva (New Life Baptist Church) celebrates it’s third anniversary.
Haitian Ministry Pastor, Paul Mathias
Pastor Mathias has been serving at West Pines Baptist Church for 4 years. Before coming to West Pines Baptist Church, he had been helping other Haitian churches as a local missionary primarily focusing on children’s ministries and adult Bible studies. He also held conferences in local churches and spent time writing articles for a website. Pastor Mathias and his wife of 16 years, Martha, have 4 children. He attended Essex County College in Newark, NJ, studying Electronic Engineering. Later he attended Florida Atlantic University earning his B.A. in French and Secondary Education. He then went on to earn his Master of Education in Counselor Education. He is currently attending Liberty University online pursuing an Education Doctorate in Leadership. Since becoming a Christian at the age of 19, Pastor Mathias has devoted his time, talent, and energy to studying the Word of God. His vision is to see as many people as possible to know Jesus as Lord and Savior and to equip people as well as possible to be devoted and serve the Lord fervently.
Church Secretary, Priscilla Stegall
Priscilla Stegall has been serving as the church secretary for 5 years. She is very involved in West Pines Baptist Church. She enjoys teaching a ladies’ Sunday School class as well as participating in the choir and serving as the church clerk. Priscilla and her family have lived in Florida for 55 years and have attended West Pines Baptist Church for 35 years. She has been married to her husband, Eric, for 35 years. They have 3 children and 4 grandchildren. In addition to serving as Church Secretary, Priscilla also spends time working with her husband in his business.