Bryan Sloan
Elder and Preaching Pastor
WHO are you?
My name is Bryan Sloan. I’ve been married to Joy, my high school sweet heart since 2003. We have 5 young kids in our home; one through adoption via Burundi. (Tucker, Jaxson, Avery, Mason, and Samuel) If I’m not spending time playing games or adventuring outdoors with my family, I'm likely on my mountain bike!
WHAT do you do?
I am one of the elders and the preaching pastor at The Fields Church. We planted The Fields in 2010 along with a small group of believers who wanted to step out in faith and live out the Gospel in more tangible ways. My main focus is to shepherd our church through the ministry of the word and prayer in hopes of being a healthy church in the world. I do this through weekly preaching at our Sunday morning worship gathering as well as serving with our team of elders, deacons, and other volunteers to fulfill our mission as a church.
WHERE did you come from?
I grew up in Arlington, TX my whole life. Most of my memories happened right here in this city. In fact, I played tball and baseball at the YMCA our church partners with and meets at! My first time to live outside of Arlington was while I was at school at Texas A&M University (Whoop ’03). I studied Zoology and business for several years, but in September 2001 it was clear that God was calling me to serve His church. I graduated in May of 2003, started working at Lamar Baptist in Arlington in June, married Joy in July, and started seminary at Southwestern in August. I was privileged to be the Student Pastor at Lamar for 8 years. That is where I learned so much about God, marriage, ministry, parenting, and myself. In 2010 God began stirring my heart to step out in faith and plant a church that was focused on making disciples and taking the church to the world. Lamar Baptist sent us out to plant The Fields Church in 2010 and we are so grateful for this church!
WHEN were you saved?
Both of my parents were Christians by time I was a young kid so I grew up hearing the Gospel in a Christian home. At an early age God opened my eyes to see that I had sinned against Him and needed His forgiveness. One day while I was riding in the car with my dad, I asked him if I could be saved. He immediately pulled the car over and helped me outwardly confess my inward faith in Jesus through a prayer. I knew then that I was forgiven by the grace of God. However, like many others, I doubted my salvation at times, lived a double life, strayed from what I knew was the truth, and ultimately lived for myself instead of God. Thankfully, Joel Skinner came into my life in high school and began discipling me and several other guys. I realized then that Gospel centered discipleship was the key to my own spiritual growth as well as my ability to impact others with the Gospel.
HOW has the Gospel impacted you recently?
This past few years the Gospel has really impacted me in a life changing way. As the Lord has continued to teach me more about himself as our Heavenly Father and about His love for us as sons and daughters, it has caused me to consider those who who have no earthly father. Knowing that God sent his own Son, Jesus, to redeem us and adopt us into his family has truly overwhelmed Joy and I to the point that we decided to show that same redeeming love to at least one of the millions of fatherless children around the world. It was our hope to adopt a child into our family in hopes of them knowing the redeeming and adopting love of our Heavenly Father. By God's grace, and after 3+ years, we were able to bring home our son, Samuel, from Burundi in May of 2019.
WHY are you at The Fields?
The Fields Church was born out of a conviction to take the Gospel and the church to the world, not expecting the world to come to the church. This kind of lifestyle was lacking in my own life for many years, but we believed that the early church was built on this strategy to go and make disciples. There have been ups and downs and lefts and rights over the years, but I can truly say that it has been one of the best journeys my family could have ever asked for. We are stronger in our faith than ever before and we truly love the family at The Fields.
My prayer for The Fields is that we would become a family of believers who are truly committed to God and one another as well as seeing the Gospel transform our own lives and the lives of those around us.