Board Member Spotlight
Amelia Rodriguez
Ms. Rodriguez graduated from Laredo State University with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and English. She then received her Doctor of Jurisprudence at Texas Southern University and received several hours of Mediation Training. She is a member of the Family Law Section, State Bar of Texas, College of the State Bar of Texas, and Fort Bend County Bar Association.
Ms. Rodriguez actively volunteers with Harris County Dispute Resolution Center – Civil and Family Mediations and Fort Bend Lawyers Care. She has delivered numerous presentations on legal topics, such as Immigration Law and laws affecting small business owners. These were presented to various Baptist General Convention of Texas groups and local church groups. She has also hosted weekly talk shows on legal issues on Radio Amistad.
Additionally, Ms. Rodriguez has served on the Board of Nevertheless Missions for three years. Amelia Rodriguez is a qualified professional who earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and English from Laredo State University. She further pursued her education and achieved a Doctor of Jurisprudence from Texas Southern University. Amelia has received extensive Mediation Training and is an active member of various organizations such as the Family Law Section, State Bar of Texas, College of the State Bar of Texas, and Fort Bend County Bar Association.
Apart from her professional work, Amelia is known for volunteering at Harris County Dispute Resolution Center – Civil and Family Mediations and Fort Bend Lawyers Care. She has conducted numerous presentations on legal topics such as Immigration Law and laws affecting small business owners to various Baptist General Convention of Texas groups and local church groups. She has also hosted weekly talk shows on legal issues on Radio Amistad.
Furthermore, Amelia has served on the Board of Nevertheless Missions for three years. She is an expert in her field, and her contributions to the community are commendable.
Butch and Ellen Booth
Chief Executive Officer
Machida, Japan
Col. Pat Briley
President
US Army
Poteau, Oklahoma
COLONEL (Ret) PATRICK O. BRILEY
United States Army retired Colonel Patrick O. Briley is the President of the NTLM Board of Directors. He resides part-time in Rogers AR and part-time in Corolla, NC. He is mostly retired, managing a rental property in NC and consults for the DoD on various subjects. He most recently was the Master Planner for Operation Inherent Resolve and stationed in Baghdad, Iraq for two years, returning stateside in 2020. Previous to that he was the Director, Army Reserve Installation Management Directorate, in Washington DC and Command Engineer for the United States Army Reserve Command, Fort Bragg, NC. He served in previous positions at Fort Jackson, SC, Fort Belvoir, VA, the Pentagon, Fort Shafter, HI, and has served several tours overseas, mainly in Iraq. Pat is a graduate of Oklahoma State University, Webster University, and the United States Army War College. He is married to the former Stacy Collier of Wewoka, OK, whom he met while attending Oklahoma State University and they have one son Zachary who lives with his wife in Richmond, VA. Pat and Stacy also have two daughters, Spencer Abigail, who teaches school in Sherwood, AR and Grayson Isabella who is a senior at University of Central Oklahoma. Pat accepted Christ as his savior in High School and has been active in churches wherever he was stationed and is currently active in Life Church Rogers and serves on the Operations Team there. He also is active with missions from Trinity Baptist Church, Ada, OK and travels to Belize annually with a mission’s team. Pat and Butch have been friends for about 30 years and share many close colleagues and friends. Pat has been on the Board for three years now, and in his second year as President. He has been to Japan several times, but not as a representative of NTLM, but instead as a Christian Soldier. He looks forward to going to Japan and serving with Butch when the county opens up for visitors.
Scott Huebert
Chief Financial Officer
Partner of Finley and Cook Accounting
Shawnee, Oklahoma
SCOTT HUEBERT
Scott is the CFO of Nevertheless Missions. He grew up in Shawnee and was in Butch’s student ministry at Immanuel Baptist Church, of which he is still a member. As a young boy, Scott was led to the grace of Christ, by faith, through his parents’ testimony and witness.
Scott and his family have long had a heart for missions. As a child, his family would visit and support a Mexican mission organization based in South Texas that his grandparents were involved in. In recent years, they have been on several mission trips to Ecuador, Belize, and Mexico. It is exciting to be a part of what God is doing in Japan through Nevertheless Missions. Professionally, Scott is a 1995 graduate of Oklahoma Baptist University. He is now a partner at the public accounting firm, Finley & Cook, PLLC in Shawnee. His primary focus there is working with Native American governments and not-for-profit entities with accounting services and accounting software. Scott is blessed to have two sons, Tyler and Joseph, and a wonderful daughter in-law, Westie. A couple of years ago, Tyler opened a young and growing restaurant business called the Surf Bar. Scott is part-owner and helps with operations as the CFO.
Sharon Villareal
Secretary / Treasurer
Administrative Assistant
Sugar Land, Texas
SHARON VILLARREAL
Administrative Assistant
Student Ministries
Sugar Creek Baptist Church
Sharon has served in her position at Sugar Creek for the past 13.5 years but began volunteering in student ministry in 2001. Over the years, she has had the opportunity to serve many students and student pastors and to be blessed by each. She first heard stories of the best student pastor ever and finally in 2012, she got to meet him when he was hired as a student pastor at Sugar Creek. Butch Booth measured up to the stories that she heard! Sharon had the privilege to work with Butch in student ministry and then to serve Nevertheless Missions as the secretary and treasurer when Butch and Ellen moved to Japan to begin the ministry.
Sharon has been married to Juan for 35 years and they have two daughters, Aleyna and Alicia. Sharon graduated from college with a degree in Radiologic Technology and immediately began teaching in that field;
first in Lake Charles, LA then at Lamar University in Beaumont, TX. After obtaining a Master’s degree from University of Houston, she moved to Houston to a position of Assistant Manager, Radiology at The Methodist Hospital. She left The Methodist Hospital to work part-time for Advanced Health Education Center and then moved to the most important position ever – homeschool mom! Once both daughters were in college, at The University of Texas, Austin, the Lord moved her to serve in her current position.
Sharon has had great joy in learning, serving, and encouraging others to be the best God has called them to be.
Teresa Taylor Gardner
Insurance Agent
Shawnee Oklahoma
Brenda Zinck
Educator, Broken Arrow High School
Broken Arrow, Oklahoma
BRENDA ZINCK
This is Brenda Zinck’s first year on Nevertheless Board. Brenda is married to Brian. They met at Oklahoma State University where they were both involved in Campus Crusade for Christ. They will be married 38 years at the end of December. They have three children and two grandchildren. Brett, their oldest, is married to Cherie, and they live in Aruba. Brett and Cherie have two children, Caleb, who will be three in December and Caylah who is 17 months old. Visiting Aruba is always a part of their summer plans. Bethany and Blake are Brian and Brenda’s twins, and both are schoolteachers. Bethany is a Pre-K teacher in the Broken Arrow School district, and Blake teaches Physical Science at Lincoln Christian School and also coaches high school basketball. Brenda is a Special Education English Teacher. For 18 years, Brenda worked in Sallisaw High School where she taught Direct Instruction English to 9, 10, and 11th grade students. But for the last four years, she has taught in Broken Arrow High School in a co-taught English class with 10th graders.
At two weeks old Brenda was in the nursery at church, so Brenda has always been involved with church. At the age of 8, Brenda declared to know Christ, but while at Falls Creek at the age of 16, realized that she was not in the family of God. She then professed her need for Christ as her Savior and Lord and became one of his children in the faith. Brenda was very involved in her youth group. She even felt God calling her to serve in some capacity of a youth ministry. After a year of their marriage, Brian felt the calling to be in the ministry. They moved to Fort Worth, Texas to have Brian attend seminary. While in Fort Worth, they were involved in a small group ministry of leading singles. After graduation, Brian and Brenda moved to Cabot, Arkansas where Brian served at First Baptist Church Cabot for nine years as the Youth Minister. During this time, Brian began to feel that God was calling him to Pastor. They moved to Sallisaw, Oklahoma where Brian was a Pastor for First Baptist Church Sallisaw for eighteen years. After this, they moved to Broken Arrow, Oklahoma where they live today.
Nate Sprinkle
Pastor
Rosenberg, Texas
NATE SPRINKLE
Senior Pastor
Calvary Baptist Rosenberg, Texas
Nate has been married to his wife, Barbi for 27 years and is father to 5 children: Brienna Williams (married to Eli), Noah, Kira, Micah & Elijah. Currently, he is serving as Senior Pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Rosenberg, TX.
His mission and calling is to serve, shepherd, teach, and train the local church to be the loving, disciple-making body of Christ that God intends – through faith in Jesus and founded on God’s Word – so that disciples are made locally and churches are multiplied globally for the glory of Jesus Christ.
Nate’s background is a degree in mathematics and work experience as a software engineer. After 9 years of engineering work (4 years of which were in central Australia with his family), the Lord led him to start a degree in missiology from SWBTS as he and Barbi began to prepare for international mission service. Nate and his family then served in South Asia with IMB as strategy coordinators and later missionary supervisors for 7 years. Though he and his family live stateside at present, they have a love for sharing the gospel and a desire for disciples to be made in the US and around the world. One way he is able to be a part of global missions is by serving on the board of NTLM.
Nate and Butch met 7.5 years ago while he was serving as Director of Missions at Sugar Creek Baptist Church in Sugar Land, TX and Butch served in youth ministry there. Nate’s two oldest children were greatly influenced by Butch and grew in their relationships with Christ while in the youth ministry at SCBC, and they were also part of a short-term team that served with Butch and Ellen in their early days of NTLM ministry in Japan.
Dr. Steve Woodson
Physician
Woodson Medical Clinic
Stigler, Oklahoma
DR. STEVE WOODSON
His mother called it hopeless. His cursive handwriting, that is. After a few hours of struggling with the fourth grader, she relinquished, “You write so terribly you might as well become a doctor.” So, here he is today, Stephen W. Woodson, a doctor of osteopathic medicine. And yes, his handwriting is still indecipherable.
Doc grew up in Tulsa, graduating from Memorial High School in 1972. He went to Baylor University, graduating in 1976, and received his medical degree from the Oklahoma State University College of Osteopathic Medicine and Surgery in 1980. He visited the small town of Stigler and decided it was the place to begin his family practice. Thirty-six years later, it is still the place for him.
He became a Christian in high school and is active at the First Baptist Church, where he teaches an adult Sunday School class and enjoys getting together with the Band of Brothers to study scripture and eat!
He shares his medical skills on mission trips to Haiti, Brazil, and Malawi. For six years, he has excavated with an archeological team in Israel. In Stigler, he is very involved with community improvements and even becomes an “actor” when his stage antics are needed!
Doc is a father of four, has one daughter-in-law, and is the grandfather of three. He is married to Mitzi Ramsey Woodson, and they enjoy volunteering, running, hiking, cycling, scuba diving, snow skiing, 4-wheeling, boating, photography, and enjoying family! Most recently, he began tinkering with a 1971 MG Midget!
Dr. Woodson has served on the Nevertheless Missions Board of Directors since 2012.
Richy Fisher
Pastor
Fort Smith, Arkansas
RICHY RISHER
Richy has over 30 years of ministry leadership experience ranging from small churches in rural settings to larger churches in metro areas. He has served in various leadership roles in churches, organizations and non-profits throughout Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas.
He has served as consultant and contributor to numerous ministries both inside and outside the local church in addition to teaching at various ministry conferences and training events. Richy served on the board of directors of Lead 222 for numerous years until recently moving his time to Nevertheless Missions.
He and his wife Susan have been married for 31 years and have three sons Ryan (24) who is married to Samantha, William (21) who is married to Haylee and Nathan (16) who is in the 11th grade.
Richy and Susan currently live in Van Buren, Arkansas and recently took the position of Lead pastor of Community Bible Church which is a multi-site church in Fort Smith Arkansas river valley.
Chris Henry
Engineer
Sugarland, Texas
CHRIS HENRY
Chris Henry, a native of Bossier City, Louisiana, was the youngest of 3 sons and was blessed to have parents who loved the Lord and lived out their faith. Having dedicated his life to Jesus at the age of 8, it wasn’t until his college years that he truly understood the value of discipleship and spiritual growth through church and organizations such as Campus Crusade for Christ.
He embarked on his educational journey at Louisiana Tech University, where he earned a degree in Electrical Engineering. With a solid academic foundation, Chris ventured into the oil and gas industry, accumulating over 25 years of design and managerial experience at various engineering and construction firms. Beyond his professional achievements, Chris finds his greatest joy in his family life. He has been happily married to his wife, Julie, for over two decades, and together they are proud parents to three children: Chris, Ben, and Walker. Additionally, they have opened their hearts and are home to four bonus children: Paw Day, Kio, Mah Pah, and Tin Tin. Their faith plays a central role in their lives, as active members of Sugar Creek Baptist Church, where they serve in the Student Ministry, positively impacting the next generation.
Roger Sikes
Retired – IMB Missionary to Chad Africa
Fort Worth, Texas
ROGER SIKES
Roger holds a MA in Religious Education from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Roger and his wife served with the International Missions Board of the Southern Baptist Convention in West and North Africa. Roger is also active in the Chains of Grace Ministry, which helps parolees get a new start in life. Nevertheless, Missions is thankful for his experience on a mission field and brings that experience to Nevertheless Missions board.
Janet Hernandez
Certified Public Accountant
Missouri City, Texas
JANET HERNANDEZ
Manager, Trading Capability
Chevron
Janet begins her day with prayer, worship and quiet time. Her personal statement is to empower those she cares about to live a full and meaningful life, being intentional in their relationship with Christ and family. She strives to role model continual self-growth, and is passionate about deepening relationships with people and Jesus. This year she and her daughter started a a Bible study for Moms of Young Children with the purpose of reaching moms to create Christian connections. As a young mom, Janet was very passionate about church camp for her kids as church camp is where she offered her heart to Jesus in the 4th grade. She and her husband began volunteering at youth church camp, and it was during this time that she met Butch. She began supporting Nevertheless Missions and then began to serve on the Board.
Janet has been married to Robert over 30 years and they have been members of Sugar Creek Baptist Church for over 20 years. They are blessed with their son Caleb, daughter Sarah, daughter Rebecca, her husband Dustin, and grandson Malachi. Cooking as a family and exploring new foods is something they love to do as a family, as well as attend Dynamo and Astros games.
Janet graduated from the University of Houston Clear Lake with a B.S. Accounting. She has 28 years of experience in the energy industry in trading, analytics, finance, and operations. She leads a global team at Chevron developing organizational capability of trading crude oil, gas, and refined products. The past 4 years she has been selected to lead her business unit globally in Diversity & Inclusion initiatives, which involves developing fluency and arranging interactive sessions for the Leadership Team and Management. She has served as a formal Mentor in the Women’s Energy Network for 4 years, and was a member of the 1-year Global Leadership Cohort. She was selected to serve on the Houston Women’s Energy Network Leadership Team at Chevron, on the Career Development Committee.
Amelia Rodriguez
Family Lawyer
Sugar Land, Texas
AMELIA RODRIGUEZ
Ms. Rodriguez graduated from Laredo State University with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and English. She then received her Doctor of Jurisprudence at Texas Southern University and received several hours of Mediation Training. She is a member of the Family Law Section, State Bar of Texas, College of the State Bar of Texas, and Fort Bend County Bar Association.
Ms. Rodriguez actively volunteers with Harris County Dispute Resolution Center – Civil and Family Mediations and Fort Bend Lawyers Care. She has delivered numerous presentations on legal topics, such as Immigration Law and laws affecting small business owners. These were presented to various Baptist General Convention of Texas groups and local church groups. She has also hosted weekly talk shows on legal issues on Radio Amistad.
Additionally, Ms. Rodriguez has served on the Board of Nevertheless Missions for three years. Amelia Rodriguez is a qualified professional who earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and English from Laredo State University. She further pursued her education and achieved a Doctor of Jurisprudence from Texas Southern University. Amelia has received extensive Mediation Training and is an active member of various organizations such as the Family Law Section, State Bar of Texas, College of the State Bar of Texas, and Fort Bend County Bar Association.
Apart from her professional work, Amelia is known for volunteering at Harris County Dispute Resolution Center – Civil and Family Mediations and Fort Bend Lawyers Care. She has conducted numerous presentations on legal topics such as Immigration Law and laws affecting small business owners to various Baptist General Convention of Texas groups and local church groups. She has also hosted weekly talk shows on legal issues on Radio Amistad.
Furthermore, Amelia has served on the Board of Nevertheless Missions for three years. She is an expert in her field, and her contributions to the community are commendable.
Chip James
Pastor
Searcy, Arkansas
CHIP JAMES
Chip James was saved by grace at the age of 26. He is married to his wife Brenda of 44 years. One daughter in heaven and one son 21 years old who loves Jesus and just married a beautiful young lady – Alicen.
Chip considers himself a semi-retired RN nurse administrator, 68 years old, and pastoring a fellowship called “Complete in Christ Fellowship,” which consists of an in-house 1-year phase restoration program for men who have been down the wrong road. Chip and his family minister to these families and lead a community that supports this process.
Chip has been in ministry since the day he was saved, serving in areas of youth work, bi-vocational pastoring, church starts, and ongoing mission work to Juarez, Mexico.
Chip is a licensed Christian counselor with the National Christian Counselors Association.
Chip has been a vital part of Butch’s spiritual growth since 1984.