Elders

Warren Hanson

Chairman of the Elder Board

I was born in Kodiak, Alaska, some years before statehood.   I lived there until a junior in high school and my parents left Alaska.  I graduated high school in Silverdale, Washington and then attended Olympic College.  While a freshman in college, I learned about the Air Force Academy.  I applied for and was accepted in the Class of 1972.  
Upon graduation from the USAF Academy, I entered Pilot Training and spent 20 years as an Air Force Officer, Fighter Pilot, and Test Pilot.  In 1974, I met Janice while stationed in Del Rio, Texas.  In 1975 we married and have had the pleasure of 36 years and two children together.  Our children, Elizabeth and James are grown and married.  We are grandparents of Emma.

After military retirement, I continued as a Test Pilot.  The opportunity to run the flight test program for the T-6 Texan II brought our family to Wichita.  I currently work at Cessna continuing in the flight test world. We joined MEBC in 2001.

My personal testimony can briefly be described as an early decision for Christ, but not much growth until several years in the Air Force.  I was challenged to grow and mature through a Colonel that was a mentor to me spiritually.  His wife was a mentor to my wife.  We served many years through the chapel program, Officer’s Christian Fellowship and Janice teaching Precept Bible Studies.  A recipient of infant baptism, I was baptized as an adult when we joined Keller First Baptist Church, in Keller, Texas, shortly after my retirement from military service.

Greg Breazeale

Senior Pastor

I was born on February 20, 1981 in Hattiesburg, Mississippi though I grew up in Purvis, a small town outside Hattiesburg.  Early on, I had a somewhat consistent church life, though I was by no means walking in fellowship with Jesus.  After high school, I went to the University of Southern Mississippi on a baseball scholarship.  During the summer of 2000, God brought me to a place where the things I had leaned on for my value and worth began to crumble.  In June, after my freshman year, I began to read the book of Romans, mostly as a way to get God to help me figure out why things were happening as they were.  But the more I read, the more I became convinced that I did not know Jesus as Savior, and therefore was not walking in the way God desired me to walk.  A few days later, on June 12th, was when I believe God saved me.  For the first time in my life, I felt clean and forgiven. 

Shortly after, I began to sense something stirring in me talk publicly about what I had experienced and what I was reading in the Bible.  My pastor gave me some opportunities to teach and preach, which confirmed the fact that God had called me to do pursue this kind of work full time.  On September 12, 2000, First Baptist Church of Purvis, Mississippi licensed me to full time Christian service.  I then transferred to William Carey University where I finished a degree in Religion with a minor in Communication.  During my last year there I met Heather and we married in December 2003, shortly after I had taken the senior pastor position at Wanilla Baptist Church in Monticello, Mississippi.  Three years later we moved to Covington, Louisiana in order for me to finish my masters degree at the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. I graduated in the summer of 2008 with a  Master of Divinity in Christian Thought.  We have two sons, Cross (2009) and Rhyse (2011). In November 2010 I became senior pastor of Metro East Baptist Church.

Robert Bragg

I’m a Texan…born in Lubbock & raised in west Texas.  My father was a Southern Baptist pastor and our family life revolved around serving the church, friends, and neighbors.   But at 18, I realized that while I had gone to church my entire life, I had never committed my life to Jesus in a genuine salvation experience.  During the summer before college, I was saved and began college at WSU as a believer.
Kathi & I started dating shortly after my conversion and we got married while we were both still in college.  We’ve been married 35 years and have three young adult children.  Two are married and have given us three wonderful grandchildren.   Early in my Christian life, I developed a love for the church and a desire to serve.  I graduated with a degree in Education and went to Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary for a Masters in Divinity.  I spent about 20 years pastoring and teaching, mostly in Texas.
For the last 12 years, I’ve worked for Pyxis, Inc., a company that provides social and mental health services to at-risk youth and adults.  I currently serve as Vice President of Operations and oversee the company’s mental health services to emotionally disturbed youth and juvenile offenders.  I have an MBA and a Masters in Marriage and Family Therapy.

Kathi & I joined MEBC in 2005.  I have the gifts of administration, teaching, and service.  I love MEBC, am honored to serve the Lord there, and have a desire to see strong marriages and families that reflect the pattern of the New Testament, Christ and His church.    

Dale Folsom

I was born in Oklahoma, and lived there until moving to Kansas in 1966. I have a BA degree from Northeastern State University, Tahlequah, Oklahoma and an MS degree from Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma.  I taught in Oklahoma public schools for ten years, and, after military service, entered the financial services field, working as a stock broker/financial planner for approximately forty years.  I served on active duty with the US Army during the Korean Conflict, and after separation served several years in both the US Army Reserves and the Air National Guard.  I came to know Christ at the age of 14 in a revival meeting at our church. My wife Marie and I first visited MEBC on the recommendation of our daughter, Pam Nelson, fell in love with the church and the people, and subsequently felt the Lord's leading to become members.

Tom Harwell

Tom Harwell has been a member of the Metro East congregation since 1997. He was born and raised in Midland, Texas and was blessed with loving Christian parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins.

He made his decision to follow Christ as a 15 year old teenager at a James Robison crusade at Midland Memorial Stadium. He has a communications degree from the University of Houston and is employed in the public affairs group of a privately held corporation.

He has been married to his lovely wife Jane for 31 years and they are blessed with four adult children and two beautiful daughters-in-law. 

Dick Peckham

I was born in South Carolina and was raised in a beautiful suburb of Detroit, Michigan. I accepted Christ at age 9 at a revival service. I have a Journalism degree from Michigan State University and a  Law Degree which I earned in 1977.  I spent one year in the Vietnam War. I have been employed in law and business throughout my adult life.  
My wife JoAnn and I, have seven children and seventeen grandchildren.  I have taught adult Bible classes for thirty-five years.  We came to Metro East Baptist in 2004.

Harley Alderson

I have been Southern Baptist all of my life, being baptized at the age of 9.  I am a chemical engineer by degree and worked for the bulk of my career with Koch Industries, though I recently left Koch to pursue another job opportunity with Oneok Partners.  I met my wife, Kena (daughter of Ken and Angie Wright), in Texas 21 years ago, while we were both in school, and we married in 1993.  We have been happily married ever since and have been blessed with two beautiful children, Abbey(13) and Kirk(10).  Kena (a degreed chemical engineer also) has found a calling in teaching 4th grade at the Classical School of Wichita, a private Christian school that meets at Heartland Community Church.  She is a wonderful wife and mother and has nurtured her family and tended her household well. 

Kena and I were part of the original Metropolitan Baptist satellite core group and, though my job did take us away from Wichita for some years, we have remained dedicated to MEBC and have enjoyed being a part of this body in the good times and the tough times.  We have both grown in our Christian walks together, and the ministry of MEBC has had a large part to play in that growth.  I do feel called to serve MEBC in whatever capacity I can and however the Lord leads.  I love serving the body through teaching, encouraging, praying and giving.  I want to see MEBC follow Jesus and be a body that pleases Him.  

Jeff Claybrooks

Jeff Claybrooks has been a member of the Metro East congregation since the Fall of 1996.  Jeff and his family felt the Lord calling them to join the small but established group focusing on reaching the east side of the metropolitan area.  Jeff was asked to be a part of the first deacon body and in that role he helped guide the efforts to become an independent church body.  Currently Jeff is an Adult Bible-study Fellowship teacher. Jeff made his profession of faith and was baptized while in the third grade.  Through his parents and a series of Godly teachers, God lead Jeff on a path of learning to serve and teach.  While in college, Jeff and Ruth met and were married.  Upon Jeff’s graduation, God lead them to Wichita and Sharon Baptist Church where Jeff was ordained in 1986. 

In 1989 God lead the family to Huntsville AL where they served at Southside Baptist Church in various missions roles and Jeff again served as a deacon.  Jeff and Ruth feel that God has taken them on a journey where in each step He has prepared them for their next opportunities for service.  Jeff and Ruth are the parents of Jessica (married and teaching in Tulsa, OK), Jennifer (Chemical Engineering Senior at the University of Missouri ), and Ryan (Senior at Wichita High School East).

Jonathan Thorne

Jonathan was born and raised in a pastor’s family. He made a profession of faith at the age of nine, and was baptized. He is the oldest of six children, has a B.A. in theology from Covington Theological Seminary, and has been married to Brandi, his dream girl, for nearly 14 years. They have four children; Jameson, Jefferson, Elsie, and Jackson. Jonathan owns and operates Thorne Construction, and enjoys spending time with his family, being outdoors, reading Spurgeon, playing guitar, and chess.

Jonathan and Brandi are very thankful for Metro East Baptist Church, and have been members for 5 1/2 years. They love being involved with their ABF, Homebuilders, and getting to see a perfect God work in and through the lives of imperfect people.