Pastor, Speaker, Mentor

Deron Henry currently serves as Discipleship Pastor at First Baptist Church Columbia, TN. He was in Student Ministry and Young Adult Ministry for over 30 years and transitioned to Discipleship Ministry in 2023. Prior to coming to First Baptist, he was the Student Pastor at Immanuel Baptist Church in Lebanon, TN.

Deron grew up in Cincinnati, OH, and is a die-hard Cincinnati Reds fan. Deron’s first love was baseball which led him to have the opportunity to move to Tennessee and play baseball at the college level.

In 1990, while attending a summer camp as a chaperone, Deron felt God’s call on his life to preach. It would take Deron several years but finally, in 1998 he surrendered his life to preaching the gospel to anyone who would listen.

While in college at Cumberland University, Deron met the love of his life, Lourae, and has been married since 1993. Together, they have 2 boys (Stephen & Luke), 2 daughters-in-law (Sunny & Ashley), and one almost-perfect grandson (Wyatt).

Deron is a gifted communicator and is passionate about preaching God’s word, seeing others transformed by the gospel message of Jesus Christ, and watching people grow in their faith. He loves to hang out with his family, work out, and drink large amounts of coffee as well as Diet Mountain Dew. Deron also has an unhealthy addiction to Angilo’s Pizza and Skyline Chili…it’s a Cincinnati thing that most people just don’t understand.

Deron received his Undergraduate Degree in Physical Education from Cumberland University as well as a Master’s Degree in Education. He then received a Master’s Degree in Theological Studies from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (SWBTS). Deron is currently a Doctoral student at SWBTS pursuing a Doctor of Education in Ministry in Biblical Counseling (DEdMin).

Deron’s greatest thrill, outside of watching his children live out their God-given dreams, is seeing other people surrender to the call of God in their lives.