Members of the Mission Houston Board of Directors

Jim Herrington, Chairman

Jim is the founding Executive Director of Mission Houston, serving in that position from November 1998 until December of 2001. He has served as a Pastor since he was 19, working in congregations in Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas. Jim also served as the Executive Director of the Union Baptist Association from 1989 to 1998. He earned a Masters in Education degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from the University of Arkansas. Jim and his wife Betty, a Houston ISD teacher, have been married since 1973, and have 4 children and 3 grandchildren. They reside in Montrose, where Jim currently pastors a network of house churches called Harbor Church.

Steve Capper, Executive Director

Steve has been on staff with Mission Houston since 2000, and has served as the Executive Director since 2003. He has worked in vocational ministry since 1978, and came to Houston in 1994 to be the Rector at the Church of the Redeemer, an inner-city Episcopal church. Steve has been a consultant to congregations since 1992 and serves also as a consultant to Christians in cities in both North America and southern Africa regarding community transformation. In addition, Steve serves congregations throughout greater Houston in preaching, teaching, and leading retreats. He earned a Master of Divinity degree from Episcopal Seminary of the Southwest, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Education from Texas A&M University. He and his wife Karen were married in 1975 and have 3 children and 3 grandchildren. They reside in the Eastwood neighborhood, located in near East Houston.

Robert Baldwin Jr.

Bob will join the Board in January 2009. He is a career US Army officer, having retired from active duty in 1989 as an associate professor on the faculty at West Point. He and his wife Cathie moved to Houston that year to join Enron where Bob worked until 2000. While at Enron, the Baldwins lived and worked in Europe and Bob led business development in Asia-Pacific and privatization efforts in Latin America. Bob works full time now in small business development, concentrating on businesses that have the potential to build local community while serving the least among us--including immigrants and ex-offenders. Bob had been deeply involved in Mission Houston for a number of years. He is he co-authored of a soon to be released book on community transformation, "The Missing Church: Being the Body of Christ Where It Matters in Family, Neighborhood and Work." He served as an instructor in Leaders Edge and is a graduate of Mission Houston's Faithwalking training. He has a B.S. in engineering from the US Military Academy and a PhD in economics from MIT. The Baldwins live in Tomball, TX.

Kevin Barber

Kevin has served on the Mission Houston board since 2005. He is a prior employee of Southwestern Bell Telephone Company from 1979 to 2001. Kevin has also pastored at Spirit of Life Ministries from 1991 to 1997. He graduated from the Full Gospel Fellowship School of Ministry in 1992. Kevin founded the Baca Christian Center church in Missouri City, TX in 1997, where he currently serves as the Senior Pastor. In addition, he serves on the Advisory Board of LIFE International, Inc. Kevin and his wife Darlene have been married since 1982, and have 2 children. They live in the Richmond-Rosenberg area, southwest of Houston.

Thomas Brown

Tom has served on the Mission Houston board since 2008. He is a board certified specialist in civil litigation with over twenty years of courtroom experience. Tom holds a Juris Doctorate from Baylor University School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science & Theology from Howard Payne University. He is a partner in the law firm of Fisher, Boyd, Brown, Boudreaux and Huguenard and is a member of both the American College of Trial Lawyers and the International Academy of Trial Lawyers. Tom and his wife Cindy were married in 1987 and have 3 children. He and his family are members at Tallowood Baptist Church, where Tom serves as a Deacon, Trustee and adult Bible study teacher. They reside in the Memorial area of West Houston.

Ricardo Escobar

Ricardo has served on the Mission Houston board since 2008. He is a 3rd generation missionary in his family with experience in both congregations and the private sector. Ricardo holds a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration from Ouachita Baptist University and has worked on graduate studies at Dallas Theological Seminary, Houston extension. He is currently serving as President & CEO of Escobar Company a Gemera Contracting firm. Ricardo and his wife Amy have 3 children and serve at Fellowship of Memorial. They reside in the Westchase District of West Houston.

Richard Figueroa

Rick has served on the Mission Houston board since 2007. He has Certified Public Accountant and Certified Financial Manager designations. Rick earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Accounting and a Masters in Land Economics from Texas A&M University. He is currenly a Vice President & Senior Financial Advisor at Union Bank of Switzerland (UBS) here in Houston. In addition, Rick also serves on the boards of several organizations, such as Young Life Houston and ESCAPE Family Resources. Rick and his wife Laura have 4 children, and they reside in Sugar Land, TX. They are members of Parkway United Methodist Church in Sugar Land.

Paul Fury

Paul has served on the Mission Houston board since 2006. He founded The Fury Group LLC, a marketing and branding company, where he currently serves as CEO & President. In addition, Paul served as a non-commissioned officer in the United States Air Force Reserve. He earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Finance from the University of Texas at Austin. He currently attends Grace Community Church in Houston. Paul and his wife Kim have 5 children. They reside in Pearland, TX.

Jorge Martinez

Jorge is married to Mary and they have one daughter, Grace, who is 5 years old. They are actively involved in 2nd Baptist Church Houston, and they live in the Garden Oaks area of the city. Jorge was recommend to the Board by his friends Ricardo Escobar and Marcos Leon. He recently completed Faithwalking and has agreed to serve on the public relations team of the Board. Jorge was born and raised in Mexico City, Mexico. He is an attorney with an active practice in Mexico City - he commutes back and forth on a regular basis. Jorge's father is a pastor, and father, son and another brother founded and operate a school for at risk children in Mexico City. Jorge has been involved in missionary work in a variety of ways through his adult life, and he is eager to bring that experience to his work on the Mission Houston Board.

Todd McCombs

Todd joined our Board in October 2008. He is a successful entrepreneur and is active in leading Christian ministries across the Greater Houston area. Todd was the original Chairman of the Board for Second Mile Mission Center, a ministry to the poor in Fort Bend Country, and is the founder of Innovative Outreach International (IOI), a ministry to male ex-offenders and males in substance abuse recovery. Todd and his wife Denise were married in 1983 and have three children. They are members of Crossbridge Community Church in Sugar Land, Texas. The family resides in Missouri City.

Laura R. Sorrell

Laura joined the Board in January 2009 and has a long history with Mission Houston serving as a volunteer member of the research team for the Houston Profile Project. Laura is a member of Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church. Both Laura and her husband, Mark, founded an executive search firm together, Source Meridian. They have two children, Katherine, a school teacher with Yes Prep, and Stephen. Laura's entire professional, church, and community service experience has been in Houston since 1979. She graduated from Baylor University with a B.A. in English and is currently working on her Masters degree in Liberal Studies with Rice University. Since 2002, Laura has spent from 1/3 ro 1/2 of her time serving various non-profit and ministry-related ventures in the Greater Houston area. Laura's expertise in executive search includes serving as a strategic recruiting partner for her clients providing executive recruiting, market research, and human resources consulting. The Sorrell family resides in the Memorial area of West Houston.

Bryan Tantzen

Bryan Tantzen has served on the Mission Houston Board since 2008. A Senior Director at Cisco Systems, he leads a team specializing in business transformation and previously helped transform many of the world's leading companies while at McKinsey & Company and i2 technologies. Bryan holds an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, an M.A. in International Affairs from the Lauder Institute at the University of Pennsylvania, and a B.S. in Economics from Texas A&M University. He is fluent in Japanese and has lived and worked in several countries in Europe and Asia. Bryan and his wife Noriko have 2 children and are members of Tallowood Baptist Church and Fellowship of Memorial.

Robert Westheimer

Robert has served on the Mission Houston board since 2006. He is a retired Certified Public Accountant and Partner from Arthur Andersen & Co., where he worked from 1974 to 2002. Robert holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Texas at Austin. Robert is an Elder at Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church in Houston. He and his wife LaNoe have 2 children. They reside in the Tanglewood neighborhood, located in near West Houston.