First Baptist Church of Johnson City, NY

Pastor Jim Murphy

Head Pastor

Pastor Jim Murphy is the Head Pastor at First Baptist Church of Johnson City, NY, where he has served since 2001. His education includes earning a Diploma of Theology from Practical Bible College (Davis College, Binghamton, NY), a Bachelor of Science in Church Ministry and a Master of Arts in Counseling from Liberty University (Lynchburg, VA). Pastor Jim has also earned a Master of Arts Degree in Biblical Apologetics from Baptist Bible Seminary (Clarks Summit, PA) and is currently pursuing a doctorate in Applied Apologetics through Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (Louisville, KY).

Pastor Jim has been in vocational ministry for 40 years, serving as Youth Pastor/Bible Instructor at Ross Corners Baptist Church and Christian Academy (Vestal, NY), Senior Pastor/School Administrator at Tioga Center Baptist Church (Tioga Center, NY), Youth Pastor at Calvary Baptist Tabernacle (Vestal, NY), and Vice-President for Student Development & Director of Counseling Services at Practical Bible College (Davis College, Binghamton, NY). He has been a guest lecturer/speaker at countless churches, conferences, camps, educational venues, as well as maintaining a private biblical counseling practice throughout his years of ministry.

Pastor Jim and Lorrie Murphy have been married since 1981 and have two adult children, Joshua and Jocelyn.

Pastor Andrew Gable

Associate Pastor of Family Ministries

Pastor Andrew was born in New York State but was raised on the mission field of Manitoba Canada in Indigenous Reservations. After returning to the states and completing high school, he then served for four years on active duty in the United States Marine Corps and deployed as a part of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

In 2004 he was blessed to marry Melinda who was born and raised in Southern California. Shortly before Andrew’s discharge from active duty, they both submitted to the call of God into vocational ministry. They then moved to Watertown Wisconsin where Andrew completed a Bachelor of Arts in Biblical Studies and completed a Master of Divinity degree through Maranatha Baptist Seminary.

After serving eight years at Fellowship Baptist Church of Watertown, Wisconsin in youth ministries, ‘the Gable family’ accepted the call of Senior Pastor at Pine Valley Baptist Church in New York and served there for 7 years. In 2021 the Lord led them here to First Baptist of Johnson City to serve in leading Family Ministries.

During these many years of ministry, ‘the Gable family’ was blessed by God with the gift of three children: Rhianna (2007), Josiah (2012), and Morgan (2015).

Pastor Ken Zuk

Associate Pastor of Discipleship

Pastor Ken grew up in Franklin, rural upstate NY. He and his wife, Lisa, have been married since 1986 and are blessed by their family God has provided in their four married children and six grandchildren. Pastor Ken served as an elder at Community Bible Church in Franklin, NY. While growing under the consistent teaching of God’s Word, Ken and Lisa were set apart by the Lord for vocational ministry in 1996, which led to preparatory steps for cross cultural church planting in Russia.

Pastor Ken completed his Bachelor of Arts in Biblical Studies/Missions at Practical Bible College (Johnson City, NY) in 2003, was ordained, and sent out to Khabarovsk, Russia (Far East Russia). Pastor Ken and Lisa moved to Western Russia where Ken worked with Russian pastors in local church settings with a ministry focus of expository preaching and sound biblical teaching, to strengthen the church, build up healthy families, and equip and develop leaders in the church. Most recently Pastor Ken and Lisa were in the Republic of Georgia, as they headed up efforts to open a new field and see how church planting efforts could be expanded to new areas in Eurasia and beyond.

After living overseas for almost 20 years, in God’s providence, Pastor Ken and Lisa returned to the upstate NY area. While praying and seeing the Lord’s direction, FBJC extended a call to Pastor Ken to serve as Associate Pastor of Discipleship in April 2023. God has led Pastor Ken and Lisa all through the years, providing all they need and equipping them to serve all by His grace and empowerment.