Dr. Doug Munton
Senior Pastor

Pastor Doug has been at First Baptist Church O’Fallon (FBCO) since 1995. He and Vickie have four children and 13 grandchildren. He graduated from Wheaton College and earned an M.Div. and Ph.D. from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He has authored 4 books. He has been past President of the Illinois Baptist State Association and 1st Vice President of the Southern Baptist Convention. He likes sports and ice cream and exercise (because he likes ice cream!) and loves helping people come to know Christ as Savior and grow deeper in faith. He blogs at dougmunton.com and you can follow him on X (Twitter) @dougmunton.

Skip Leininger
Associate Pastor/Minister of Pastoral Care

Skip is a Metro-East native, graduate of O'Fallon Township High School, Southwest Illinois College, and Illinois State University. He graduated from Southwest Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas with a Master of Arts in Religious Education. After seminary, he joined the FBCO staff as Minister to Students in 1983. In 1992 he left O'Fallon to pastor the Mehlville Baptist Church in Saint Louis for 13 years. In 2005 he rejoined the staff at FBCO as the Associate Pastor. He and his wife, Joni, have been married for 30 years and are proud of their fantastic children: Abigail (Nathaniel), Joshua (Melissa), Sarah Beth (Alex) and their grandchildren: Zailey, Jase, Eden, AdaGrace, Amelia, and Rhett.

Tom Dawson
Pastor to Adults 60+

Tom has been the Adult Ministries Pastor at First Baptist Church O’Fallon since January 2005. In January 2024, Tom “sorta” retired and became the part-time Pastor to Adults 60+ at FBCO after feeling called to minister to older adults. Tom holds a Master of Business Administration (Mizzou), a Master of Divinity (Gateway Theological Seminary), and this past December graduated from the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary with a Doctor of Ministry.

In addition to his ministry at FBCO, he also served as a Reserve Chaplain in the United States Air Force and was last assigned to the 375th Airlift Wing at Scott Air Force Base, IL. Tom retired from the Air Force Reserve in April 2014 after 23 years of service.

He enjoys camping, cycling, and the outdoors. Tom and his wife, Marilyn, have two children, Katie (Josh) and Jonathan (Kristen), and three grandchildren, Samuel Thomas, Abigail Jean, and Wyatt Dawson.

Mark Jones
Worship Pastor

Mark joined the staff at FBCO in February of 2014. With over 23 years of Worship Ministry experience, he comes to O'Fallon after serving nearly 12 years at First Baptist Maryville. After traveling through every state (except Alaska) and 9 foreign countries during his professional trumpet days, he answered the call to full-time pastoral ministry in Worship and Music. Earning a Masters of Divinity degree, he's passionate about leading people in worship based on God's Word. Mark believes in multi-generational, God-empowered, musically excellent, and transformational worship to change, convict, and challenge people toward a Christlike lifestyle. Mark, and his wife Jayna, have two children, Colton and Kaylea, who are also called to serve in ministry. 

Jon McDonald
Young Adult Pastor

Jon joined the FBCO staff in September 2023 as our Young Adult Pastor. Jon is a 43-year-old Southern IL native and has been a pastor since 2008. Jon married Lindsay, a native of Kissimmee, FL on May 28, 2005. Jon and Lindsay met in Jackson, TN during their time at Union University. They welcomed their son, Nolan, to the world in August of 2010 and their daughter, Marleigh, in August of 2013.

Jon earned both a Bachelor of Arts (2005) and Masters in Christian Studies (2014) degrees from Union.

Jon enjoys spending time with his family, fishing, hunting, playing golf along with other outdoors activities, and playing guitar and piano.

Josh Renck
Pastor of Adult Ministries

An Arkansas native, Josh holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies from Arkansas State University as well as a Master of Divinity in Youth & Family Ministry from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Pastor Josh has served in churches in Arkansas, Missouri, and Ohio.

Josh is married to Katie and they have one son, Elliot. Josh enjoys reading, traveling, board games, anything outside, and spending time with his family. He also believes coffee and ice cream are the greatest inventions of all time.

Jennie Ross
Children’s Ministry Director

Raised in an Air Force family, Jennie was born at Scott Air Force Base and returned to O’Fallon for her elementary years. She was baptized at FBCO during that time. While in high school, she felt God calling her into ministry through music. So, after earning her Bachelor of Music degree, with a focus on the music industry from James Madison University, she moved to Nashville, Tennessee, in 2000 with her husband, Mark. They quickly connected with a church family and began serving in the kid’s ministry. By 2004, Jennie transitioned from the music industry to a full-time church staff position. She has since earned a Master of Biblical Studies degree from Union University, and now has almost 20 years of experience in Kid’s Ministry.

Jennie and Mark have two beautiful and active daughters, Katie and Evelyn, and two small dogs. Music still plays a huge role in the Ross family – from piano, voice, or dance lessons, to preparing for upcoming musical and choir productions, or just singing along with the radio. All four of them love to make a joyful noise to the Lord, and they are all excited to get to know and worship with the FBCO family.

Mariano Sarabia
Student Pastor

Mariano grew up in Belleville, Illinois where he attended and graduated from Belleville East High School. He has a bachelor’s degree from Liberty University in Religion: Theology with an emphasis in Evangelism and will be pursuing a Masters of Divinity through Liberty University while pastoring here at FBCO.

Mariano is passionate in equipping students to become fully devoted followers of Christ who will boldly proclaim the gospel to those who do not know Jesus. Born in a multi-ethnic family, Mexican-American and Roma descent, Mariano emphasizes how beautiful it is that people from all areas of life, descent, and pasts can be united through the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

When He isn’t involved in Student Ministry at FBCO, he spends his time keeping up with the NFL, playing soccer, playing guitar, or meeting a random person to share Jesus with. You can follow Mariano on Instagram @therealsarabia and First Students (Our Student Ministry) @wearefirststudents.

Aaron Walling
Pastor to Adults 30s & 40s
Pastor to Men

Aaron joined the FBCO staff as Pastor to Adults 30s & 40s and Pastor to Men in January 2022. He is married to Kim and together they have two beautiful daughters, Aliyah & Sophia.

Prior to joining FBCO, Aaron served for 7 years as communications director for First Baptist Bryan, Texas. As a Texas native, Aaron graduated from Texas A&M University with a degree in Economics. Additionally, he is currently pursuing his Master of Divinity from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.

Aaron is an avid sports fan, but he especially loves baseball and soccer. Currently, he has been to 18 of 30 major league baseball stadiums, and he hopes to visit the rest soon.