Austin Ministers
Ken Baldwin
Pastor
Ken and his wife, Terry, live in Austin, Texas where he serves as Associate Pastor of Care at Real Life Church. Ken has been in full-time ministry since 1972. He has served in numerous churches in Gainesville, Ft. Worth, Tyler and Austin, Texas over the last 50 years. Almost 30 of those years as the Lead Pastor and the others as Associate Pastor.
He has his undergraduate degree from Texas State University as well as a Master’s and Doctorate from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Ft. Worth.
There are many things he enjoys doing in ministry but serving people in the Name of Jesus is at the top of the list. Being able to comfort and come alongside families who are grieving and looking for Light through the tunnel of darkness.
Thomas Mohler
Chaplain
Chaplain Thomas (Tom) Mohler has been in various aspects of ministry for the past 35 years. He has a heart for serving individuals and families, especially, in their time of need. When first asked to officiate at a funeral, he was struck with the enormity of responsibility to not only minister to the family, but to also honor and share the life story of the person being celebrated.
Tom received a Doctorate of Ministry from Luther Rice in 2012. He has more than 20 years of military service and transitioned from a line officer position to chaplaincy in 2010. He is currently the Chief of Chaplains for Texas State Guard. Tom has been the lead pastor at All Faiths Chapel the last two years.
Tom and his wife Martha have been married for 44 years. They met on a missionary internship in Australia and wed the following year. They have 3 grown children, and 7 grandchildren. Pastor Tom enjoys music, reading, physical fitness, and working on the family wildlife refuge. Tom retired from the insurance industry after 40 years and now focuses primarily on Christian ministry.
Lonnie Smith
Pastor
During 20 plus years of leading a parachurch organization and pastoring various ministries at a megachurch, Pastor Lonnie discovered his passion for serving families grieving the loss of a loved one. According to Pastor Lonnie, “Every life is a gift. Every family deserves the benefit of having an officiant who lovingly understands not only how to plan and execute a life celebration service for their loved one, but also how to meet the unique needs of the family.”
Besides earning his B.A. in Biblical Studies (emphasis Pastoral Ministries), one of his biggest accomplishments includes writing a document entitled “How to do a Funeral from a to z” which has been used and adopted by a number of local church pastoral care ministries as a guide for producing excellent funerals, along with equipping anyone new to vocational ministry. Ordained by his local church and licensed by the state of Texas, Pastor Lonnie has officiated over 300 funerals, as well as over 50 weddings. He notes, “Regardless if it’s a funeral or wedding, helping families create beautiful memories never gets old.” Outside his career, Pastor Lonnie enjoys triathlon, along with hiking and traveling with his wife, Amy. They are blessed with two married daughters and two grandchildren.
Terry Tope
Pastor
After serving in churches in Oklahoma and Texas for over 50 years Terry Tope and his high school sweetheart, Mika, retired from church ministry in January 2022. Over the past 30 years Terry has been blessed to serve countless families throughout the greater Austin area who have gone through the difficult experience of losing a loved one to death. His greatest joy is to be able to pray for and encourage these families during such difficult days and to help them experience a genuine service that properly celebrates the life of their loved one. Whether the family is deeply religious, has only a moderate religious background, or even if they have no religious affiliations, Terry believes every family deserves to have someone who will genuinely love them and serve them with kindness and grace and offer the proper respect due their loved one.
Terry has a bachelor’s degree in Bible from Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Oklahoma and a master’s degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas. And he is deeply grateful for the many ways that he has experienced God’s comfort in his life during difficult times and the priceless lessons he has learned through sharing that same comfort with others.