Board Of Directors

Verse By Verse Ministry of San Antonio is governed by a Board of Directors comprised of mature Christian men, each bearing a testimony of faith in Jesus Christ and a personal witness consistent with the Biblical requirements given in 1Timothy 3 and Titus 1.  Furthermore, each member of the Board has demonstrated an annointing to teach and to do the work of an evangelist in the course of his own personal ministry.

The Board and Officers serve the ministry by guarding the teaching, setting ministry goals and objectives, and managing ministry resources - all done under the direction of the Lord and the counsel of His Spirit.

All Board members serve without compensation, in humble submission to the Lord's instructions in Luke 17:10. They may be reached through the Contact Us page on this site.

 

Stephen Armstrong

Director/President
 

Stephen Armstrong is President and the principle teacher for Verse By Verse Ministry of San Antonio. He came to know the Lord in his early 30s, while serving as an Air Force officer.  After becoming a believer, Stephen experienced God's call to learn and teach the Bible, so in 1997 Stephen left the military, found a job in Colorado, and began studying the Bible. 

As he devoted himself to study, Stephen developed a love for in-depth, verse-by-verse teaching of God's word, recognizing it to be the means God has appointed to persuade the unbeliever of the truth of the Gospel and equip the saints for the work of ministry (Rom 10:17; Eph 4:14-15). 

In 2001, Stephen received God's call to move to San Antonio, Texas, where he began to teach the Bible verse-by-verse in churches throughout the area. In 2003 he participated in a small church plant and was called to pastor Living Word Fellowship. That year he also founded Verse By Verse Ministry of San Antonio in the desire to offer his unique style of in-depth Bible teaching to a worldwide audience via the internet.

Stephen's responsibilities on the VBV Ministry Board include overseeing all teaching and staff, developing ministry strategy, directing website development, and conducting ministry public relations. Stephen lives in San Antonio, Texas with his wife, Annette, and two children, Katherine and Daniel. Stephen serves as pastor of Oak Hill Bible Church in Austin, Texas.

 

Brian Smith

Director/Treasurer
 

Brian Smith did not have a “Damascus Road” experience like the apostle Paul. Rather, the Lord led him into faith in His Son over time. Brian grew up as a Catholic, attending church weekly throughout his youth. Having been raised in the Catholic church, Brian knew about God and Jesus, but he had no understanding of salvation by faith in Christ alone and was unsaved. 

Catholicism taught Brian a works-based (false) gospel, and even though Brian recognized he was sinful, he could not break free of sin by his own power.  Like all unbelievers, Brian was incapable of pleasing God through his works.
 
Thankfully, the God Who is rich in mercy brought Brian out of the darkness and into Christ's marvelous light. Brian became a believer in his late 20s, and upon the birth of his second child, he felt a desire to return to church. Though he tried the Catholic church again, the Lord led him to several other Protestant churches as well. 

In the end, God graciously placed Brian's family in a Methodist church, where he first heard God’s word preached and the true Gospel proclaimed. Though he had heard the Bible read aloud before, only now did Brian have "ears to hear," and so he came to believe the Gospel and was born again through faith in Jesus Christ. 

Brian received water baptism in June 2003, and has grown in Christ ever since, as the Lord works in him to serve primarily in outreach ministries. As all Christians, Brian desires to serve and please His Lord from a grateful heart, not out of guilt nor shame. Brian is thankful that the Lord has called him to serve through his leadership role in Verse By Verse Ministry of San Antonio.

Brian serves as Board member and Treasurer for the ministry overseeing all ministry finances and accounting activities including distribution of all funds, reviewing teaching content and providing leadership in ministry strategy.
 

 

Joe Baumgartner

Director/Secretary
 

Joseph Baumgartner is the Secretary for Verse By Verse Ministry of San Antonio and a member of the Board.  Joe is responsible for administration of the ministry, including legal affairs and corporate governance.  Joe was raised in St. Louis, Mo., and he lived in Colorado, Mississippi and South Korea during his Air Force career. 

He settled in San Antonio in 1978.  Joe accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior early in his life, and he married the former Patricia Norton in 1980.  Their two children, Brittany and James, are an important part of his life and his Christian growth.

Some of Joe’s important spiritual highlights include the Walk to Emmaus, Kairos, Bible Study Fellowship, and 20 years of Christian fellowship at his current church.  Joe’s friendship with Stephen Armstrong began in 2002, when he attended a Verse By Verse Ministry Revelation Bible study, quickly followed by two more book studies. 

Joe has attended many VBVM studies as a student, and he has downloaded many more from the VBVM website. He enjoys listening to the studies on his iPod while he jogs.

 

 

Ron Sweet

Director
 

Ron Sweet is a professor of finance at The University of Texas at San Antonio, where he teaches courses in finance and risk management.  Ron has been frequently quoted in investment periodicals, including Business Week, Bloomberg News, The Los Angeles Times, Forbes, and CNN, and has also appeared on Bloomberg TV and Bloomberg Radio as a commentator on investment market conditions. 

In addition to serving on the Verse By Verse Ministry Board, Ron's personal ministry includes speaking at church groups on financial management from a Christian perspective and actively participating in student activities and campus ministries at UTSA. 

Ron is also active in his church and is the Treasurer for Horizons of Hope, International, a not-for-profit organization that provides resources for Christian ministries primarily in Costa Rica.

Ron has an MBA from the University of Texas at San Antonio, a Bachelors of Business Administration in Accounting from the University of Texas at Austin, and a Bachelors of Music in Music Theory from the University of Texas at Austin. Ron also holds the CPA, CFA, CMA, CCM, FLMI, and CLU designations.

In his role on the Board, Ron provides valuable leadership and counsel in all areas of the ministry, especially on matters of ministry finance and governance.

 

 

Anonymous

Director
 

A fifth director must remain anonymous due to his mission work overseas, which requires he travel into areas opposed to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and hostile to anyone associated with Christian ministries.