Ministry Team
Pastor • Deacons • Counselors
Our Pastor
Dr. Lee Lennox
Senior Pastor
Dr. Lee Lennox serves as Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church of Reed City, where his heart is to shepherd God's people with compassion, biblical clarity, and a deep confidence in the transforming power of the gospel. Lee came to know Christ as his Lord and Savior in 2005 at a Harvest Fest outreach event in Flushing, Michigan — a moment that changed the entire direction of his life and planted in him a desire to help others experience the same freedom and hope found in Jesus.
God later called Lee into ministry, leading him first to serve as a youth pastor in Wisconsin, where he grew in his passion for discipleship, mentoring, and walking with people through real-life struggles. In 2019, Lee and his wife, Melissa, along with their eight children, joyfully moved to Reed City to serve the church and community. Their family is grateful for every opportunity to open their home, build meaningful relationships, and share in the work the Lord is doing.
Lee holds bachelor's and master's degrees in Bible from Maranatha Baptist University and Maranatha Baptist Seminary. In 2023, he received a certification in church revitalization from Church Answers, and in 2024 became a certified biblical counselor through the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors. He also holds a Doctor of Ministry (D.Min.) from BJU Seminary, which has deepened his love for pastoral ministry, expository preaching, and helping believers grow in Christlikeness.
Whether in the pulpit, over coffee, or alongside those seeking spiritual growth, Lee's ministry is shaped by the conviction that God's Word truly brings lasting freedom. He counts it a privilege to walk with people as God restores brokenness, builds hope, and transforms lives through His grace.
Our Deacons
Jeff Fulmer
Deacon
Jeff grew up in Mecosta County, settling east of Stanwood before his family moved to the Freeport area during his middle school years. He and his wife found their way to First Baptist Church of Reed City in 2020, and after sensing God’s clear leading, they became members shortly after — and, as Jeff puts it, the rest is history.
Jeff’s story is one of a man who knew about God long before he truly knew Him. Raised in a believing home and faithful in church from his earliest years, he spent much of his younger life carrying a quiet but persistent sense of condemnation — asking Jesus into his heart more than once, even getting baptized, hoping something would finally stick. It wasn’t until his college years that a pastor’s teaching on the three tenses of salvation — justification, sanctification, and glorification — brought everything into focus. Jeff placed his full trust in Christ and the work of the cross, and the condemnation lifted. As he puts it simply and powerfully: “The condemnation is gone, praise His Holy name.”
That same grace that freed him now fuels his service. Jeff sees the deaconate as a natural fit because his motivational spiritual gift is serving — and he believes that men and women who love to care for others are essential to the unity and community of any healthy church. He has also had the privilege of honing his preaching gifts by filling in for Pastor Lee, and he looks forward to serving the body in a deeper and more intentional way as a deacon.
Jeff is a husband, and when he’s not serving the church he enjoys fishing, hunting, and building things with both wood and metal. The passage anchoring his life and service is Philippians 2, which has been a driving force propelling him toward others rather than inward toward himself — a constant call to the kind of humble, others-centered living that marks a servant of Christ.
Dale Kage
Deacon
Dale was born in Reed City, Michigan, and grew up on a beef cattle farm. He attended parochial school through elementary and middle school, and it was during those years that he repented of his sins and asked Jesus to be Lord of his life. He went on to graduate from Reed City High School in 1990.
Dale’s path to faith was already underway by the time he set foot in college, but his post-grad years deepened his sense of calling. He studied Communications at Lansing Community College, spent time at Michigan State University, and ultimately settled at Cornerstone University in Grand Rapids, where he earned a B.S. in Management with an emphasis on Ministry Leadership.
Dale first came to First Baptist because his mother attended, and he was searching for a church home without wanting to forsake fellowship along the way. The moment he walked through the door, he knew he was home — not only welcomed, but needed, quickly finding his place serving as a trustee and in the media booth. He was baptized by immersion, having only been sprinkled as an infant in the Lutheran tradition, and in time was nominated and elected to serve as deacon.
Outside of church, Dale stays busy building houses and tending a homestead full of goats, chickens, dogs, and a cat. He’s also deeply involved in mission outreach, partnering with Liberty Baptist’s Release ministry and serving widows and single mothers through practical help — building what’s needed, lawn maintenance, and emergency plumbing. His anchoring verse is Isaiah 49:16 — Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of My hands — a truth he holds onto because if God was willing to carry his name etched into His own skin, and send Jesus to pay his sin debt, Dale knows he can’t say no when Jesus asks for lordship of his life.
Scott Woodside
Deacon
Scott grew up in Westland, Michigan, and moved to Reed City at thirteen — a town that has been home ever since, except for four years at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo. He and his wife Shannon began attending First Baptist Church of Reed City in January of 2024 and have become a warm and welcome part of the church family.
Scott grew up largely unchurched, though his mother taught him that God exists. It was Shannon’s uncle who first opened the door to the gospel, introducing Scott to creation and biblical worldview seminars by Kent Hovind. The gospel was shared at the close of every session, and after one of those seminars Scott accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior — a decision he kept returning to, praying through each seminar until he was fully convinced in both his heart and mind that Jesus has the power and authority to save, just as He promises. Scott and Shannon later became members of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, where she served as church secretary and he served as treasurer and on the church council. Since coming to First Baptist, Scott has been part of the Freedom That Lasts discipleship classes, which have deepened his understanding of what it
means to follow Christ wholeheartedly and walk with Him daily.
Becoming a deacon was never something Scott expected. When he was nominated in 2025, he was both surprised and humbled — he didn’t feel he had enough biblical knowledge and didn’t see himself as someone gifted to teach. Pastor Lee encouraged him to spend a year as a deacon-in-training, and through that process Scott came to understand that being a deacon simply means being a servant of the Lord. Teaching belongs primarily to the elders; deacons come alongside them, handling the behind-the-scenes work so the elders can devote themselves to prayer, study, and shepherding the congregation.
Scott and Shannon have lived in their Reed City home for nearly twenty-seven years. Their son Sean lives with them, and their daughter Ashley moved to Austin, Texas in 2022. Scott has worked in finance at Newaygo County Mental Health for nearly twenty-eight years, and Shannon served in administration there for ten years before retiring in May 2026. The passage closest to Scott’s heart is Matthew 11:28–30 — the invitation of Jesus to come to Him, take His yoke, and find rest. Pastor Lee shared it with Scott when his mother passed, and it has stayed with him ever since, a reminder that salvation is not complicated and that walking with Christ is a place of rest when we surrender and allow the Holy Spirit to work in us.
Paul Stein
Deacon
Paul grew up in Dorr, Michigan, and spent years in the Kalamazoo and Plainwell area before the Lord brought him and his family to Big Rapids. He has been a member of First Baptist Church of Reed City for six years and has become a faithful and familiar part of the church family in that time.
Paul grew up in a religious home, but it was through Creation Science ministries in 2009 that he came to a personal, saving faith in Christ. That season marked a turning point — not just in what he believed, but in how he lived. Since then, his aim has been simple and steady: dig deep into the Word and put it to work for the sake of God’s kingdom. He is the kind of man who doesn’t just want to know Scripture — he wants it to reshape everything.
That hunger for growth is what drew Paul to serve as a deacon. He sees the role not as a title but as a calling — a means of identifying and meeting the real needs of the people around him. For Paul, serving as a deacon is less about position and more about proximity — getting close enough to the church family to know where they hurt and how to help.
Paul is a husband and the father of three boys, and he works as a Process and Manufacturing Engineer. When he’s not at work or serving the church, you’ll likely find him playing guitar, enjoying sports, or with his nose in a good book. The verse shaping his life right now is First Peter 5:6 — Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God — a reminder that fruitful service begins on your knees before it ever shows up in your hands.
Randy Thompson
Deacon
Randy was born in April 1949 and grew up in Grand Haven, Michigan, the middle child of a Christian home. He graduated from high school in 1967 and went on to earn a teaching degree from Central Michigan University in 1971, a master’s degree from the University of Michigan in 1978, and additional credits in special education with an emphasis on emotionally impaired and learning disability students.
He spent three decades teaching and coaching at Flint Northern High School before finishing his career with two more years at Heritage Christian School right here in Reed City. He joined First Baptist Church of Reed City in 2003.
Randy was saved at the age of seven, raised in a home where Sunday church was simply what you did. A class on salvation taught by his youth pastor at fifteen deepened his devotion to Christ and set a trajectory that has never wavered. After retiring to Northern Michigan in 2000, he joined Fellowship Baptist Church in Luther, was baptized by immersion, and recommitted himself wholeheartedly to the Lord — serving as Sunday School teacher, trustee, deacon, and missions volunteer before finding his way to First Baptist.
That history of service made the deaconate a natural continuation. When the pastor asked Randy to candidate for the deacon board at First Baptist, he already knew what the role required — and he knew he wanted it. The Lord had blessed him with clerical, computer, and communication skills, and Randy’s conviction is simple: he wants to serve the Lord until He calls him home.
Outside of church, Randy is an outdoorsman at heart — gardening, fishing, hunting, and soaking in God’s creation whenever he can. He’s a proud University of Michigan fan and isn’t shy about wearing it. He is happily married to his wife Barb. At seventy-seven years old, Randy still takes every opportunity to share John 3:16 and John 14:6 with anyone who will listen, because he knows that Jesus is the only way to the Father — and he wants everyone else to know it too.
Our Counselors
Dr. Melissa Lennox
Biblical Counselor
Melissa Lennox has served as a biblical counselor since 2020 and is certified by the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors (ACBC). She holds an M.A. in Bible, an M.A. in Biblical Counseling, and a Doctor of Ministry in Biblical Counseling from Bob Jones Seminary.
Melissa and her husband, Lee, the senior pastor of First Baptist Church, help lead the church’s Freedom That Lasts ministry. She serves in the church’s children’s, women’s, and counseling ministries, and together they are licensed foster care providers. Melissa and Lee have been married for twenty years and are parents to eight children and one son-in-law. They also serve at Northland Camp and Conference Center during family camp, teaching and counseling couples.
Mrs. Delilah Huffman
Biblical Counselor
Mrs. Delilah Huffman has a heart for helping others through biblical counseling and desires to point people to the hope and truth found in God’s Word. She is currently pursuing certification through ACBC and has completed counseling coursework through Detroit Baptist Theological Seminary.
Delilah and her husband, Brayden, enjoy serving together in ministry and encouraging others in their walk with Christ. She also has a burden for the deaf community and is pursuing a bachelor's degree in American Sign Language through Carolina University. In her free time, Delilah enjoys playing piano and hammered dulcimer, painting, and spending time with family.