First Baptist Church
Staff & Leaders

Diana Thompson

Greetings, in the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ! I pray that this day finds all of you well and excited about the opportunities that God is already at work preparing for the future. I know I am excited to meet all of you in a few weeks. I thought I would take just a few moments to tell you a little about myself, my background and my family. I cannot remember a time when I was not in church. I grew up in the same church that my parents grew up and were married in, Lynhurst Baptist Church in Indianapolis. Over the years, I have served in just about every role imaginable in the church. I have taught Sunday school and Bible study, directed VBS, and served on the Board of Christian Education and as Minister of Christian Education. I have served as a deacon, church treasurer, and chairperson of the finance committee. I have designed and directed a music, art and drama camp for teens and directed and run a summer day-camp program for children from the local community center. I have served as interim pastor during the senior pastor’s sabbatical, and as associate pastor. I have been a camp counselor and worked as the church administrator. I have been involved with drama ministry, directing a production of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, as well as acting in other productions. I have worked with the after-school program at the LBC Community Center and served as the Center’s bookkeeper. Approximately three years ago, I left Lynhurst to go to Emerson Avenue Baptist Church to do my seminary field education. There I have been involved in young adult ministry, pastoral care, teacher training, Sunday school and Bible study teaching, worship planning, and preaching. I am currently part of a missional church team working on new ways to engage with the community for the building of God’s kingdom. I also currently serve on the board and as treasurer for ABC of Greater Indianapolis. My undergraduate degree is in accounting. I worked in this field for several years before leaving to become a stay-at-home mom for fifteen years. For six of those years, I also homeschooled our two boys and was very active in the leadership of our local homeschool group. I just recently completed my Master of Divinity at Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis. Two of my favorite experiences at CTS were a Jewish-Christian dialogue class I took, co-taught by a Christian theologian and a Jewish rabbi, and a two week intensive class that I took last summer in Chicago focused on urban and multi-cultural ministry. The picture you see above is of my husband, John, and I two years ago at my parent’s 50th wedding anniversary. John and I have been married for 24 years and are blessed that both of our parents have been married for over fifty years. John has worked in the printing industry since just after high school. He is a kind and loving man—my best friend and a wonderful husband and father. We have two sons. Alex is twenty-one years old and will start his third year at Purdue University in August. He is studying forestry, which makes my dad, who is both a Purdue alumna and a retired forester, very happy. Our youngest is Mike, who is nineteen years old and just graduated from high school in May. He will leave for Marine boot camp on August 8th. A cat named Rachel and a dog named Mika are also part of our family. As to personal hobbies, I enjoy reading, cooking, sharing hospitality and anything that involves a needle and thread. John and I both enjoy hiking, camping and canoeing or kayaking. We also enjoy riding John’s motorcycle and being with friends. I look forward to learning about all of you in a few weeks! In the meantime, please know that I pray for you daily.