page_title: First Baptist Church (Boron, California)
section_title: Pastors
hierarchical_section_title: First Baptist Church (Boron, California) / Pastors
caption_attribution_description: English: Rev. Norvall Pickett and his wife Jean Pickett
context_page_description: The First Baptist Church of Boron was founded 82 years ago in 1938, as the First Baptist Church of Amargo, the first organized church in the community now known as Boron, California, then renamed the Community Baptist Church of Boron, then the First Baptist Church of Boron in 1955. Many pastors have served this church since its foundation.
context_section_description: A. Byron Chase was the first pastor of the church, and served until 1942 when he left to become a chaplain in the U.S. Army. Both the Parsonage and the Sanctuary were built by the men of the church. The men made the cement blocks which formed the church by pouring cement into hand-made forms. A basement provided space for classes as well as social activities at the time.
  When the community's name was changed to Boron the church was renamed to Community Baptist Church of Boron. In the early years, as the only church in Boron, there were people from varied religious backgrounds attending and worshiping together. As the church and the town grew groups left to establish other churches that followed the pattern, ecclesiastical polity, and worship style each group favored.
  Rev. George Kevorkian served as pastor from May 1942 to December 1943 when he and his wife left to become missionaries to the Belgian Congo. In 1948 Rev. Kevorkian was killed in a plane crash there; Mrs. Kevorkian continued to serve in Africa until she retired. Many missionaries served the Boron church before going to the mission field.
  Rev. Clell Horton first served as pulpit supply in Boron in 1944 and was officially named pastor in 1945. He and his family served the Boron church for nine years until 1954. The members of the church built the first Sunday School building (now called the Nursery Building) which housed multiple classrooms, and the church grew to average an attendance of 150 to 175 during these years.
  Pastor J. Earl Reavis and his wife MaryJo moved to serve the Boron church in March 1954 and during that 6 year ministry they oversaw the building of a new parsonage and the erection of the current Social Hall and Sunday School class building using two barracks buildings bought from Edwards Air Force Base. Harlee Sallee and Pastor Reavis barely escaped when the building settled and shifted before final placement.
  In 1955 the church name was officially changed to the First Baptist Church of Boron. The next pastor of the church was Rev. Fred Hobson of Delano who served the church family from June 1960 to October 1962.
  Pastor Norvall Pickett's seven year ministry began on January 9, 1963. He oversaw the redecoration of the interior and exterior of the Sanctuary building and the paving of the church parking lot, adding lights to the parking lot for evening activities as well. He led the congregation in the decision to purchase an additional five acres of land adjacent to the current parsonage across the street from the Boron Junior-Senior High School for future expansion of facilities.  Vacation Bible School was held for two weeks each summer serving many children from the community, as well as a family summer camp held at Thousand Pines Christian Camp & Conference Center in Crestline, California most summers. His wife Jean Pickett served the community as a registered nurse during this time. Rev. Pickett left the church to pastor the First Baptist Church of Ridgecrest in January 1970. Membership during this time grew to an average of 200 to 250.
  Rev. Cal Gregory was pastor of the church for one year from October 1970 to October 1971, while Rev. Renolds VanBuskirk was pastor of the church for three and one half years, from May 1972 through October 1975. Rev. Robert Estus served the church as Interim pastor three separate times between pastors.
  Rev. Dick Seymour came to Boron First Baptist Church as its tenth pastor in September 1976 through August 1994. Rev. Al Stilley was the eleventh pastor serving from October 1994 through August 1998, when the church celebrated its 60th anniversary. He left the church in December 1998.
  The church's current membership as of 2012 was around 100 and the pastor was Rev. Sherman Burkhead Jr.
caption: Norvall and Jean Pickett, 1990.
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