About Joel

 – Joel Dorman –

A Grateful Child of God.  Husband.  Dad.  Pastor.

Those words, although technically accurate, don’t really tell you much about me, huh? I’m married to Patty (the woman of my dreams!) and have two children: Danielle (“Dani”), and Jonah.

I’ve served at churches in several places across the United States. I’m Lead Pastor at First Baptist Church of Merced (Merced, CA) where my primary responsibilities are teaching the Scriptures, leading the church, casting the vision for The Great Commandment and Great Commission, and developing leaders for the next level in their ministry. Note: the opinions expressed here on my website are my own and do not necessarily represent those of the congregation I serve.

Most importantly, the Creator of the universe (God the Father, Jesus His Son, and the Holy Spirit) knows who I am and has promised me a home with Him in Heaven.

I have a Doctor of Ministry from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. My Master of Divinity is from Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary, and I have a Bachelor of Music Education degree from the University of Southern Mississippi/

My personal mission statement is “through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit, equip the saints for ministry to the world and each other by intentional and strategic discipleship motivated by love for Christ and His will.”

Mexican food is probably the greatest food genre on the planet and I love spending time with my family. Christmas is a year-round holiday for me. Other hobbies of mine include reading, grilling & smoking meats, watching movies (home theater), and listening to music.

The Lord blessed me with publishing my first book in 2017: 31 Days of Spiritual Wisdom: A Month in the Proverbs, cowrote an Advent devotional in 2019 called The Battle for Christmas: A. Devotional for Advent and Christmas, and am currently working on writing a book about Cultivating Leadership Behaviors.