Our ELDERS

In the scriptures, those who have the responsibility for the spiritual oversight and care of the church are called pastors

(Ephesians 4:11), elders (Acts 14:23; 20:17), and overseers (I Timothy 3:1, NAS or bishop, KJV). These different titles are used to refer to the same office of spiritual leadership.  The Bible teaches that the congregation is spiritually accountable to the elders and the elders are accountable to God (Hebrews 13:17). Therefore, the decision-making authority of the church is vested in the elders who function under the Lordship of Christ.  The members of the church fill an important role in assisting the elders in reaching decisions.  Feel free to contact the Elders by e-mail (elders@rockybayoubaptist.org) with any prayers, concerns, ideas or suggestions. (Your email will be distributed to all elders at once.)

  • Troy Hamilton

    Troy was born in Texas, but moved to Niceville in 1987 at the age of 14. He graduated from Cedarville University in 1995 and later earned his Master of Arts from Columbia Biblical Seminary and his Master of Divinity from Southern Seminary. Troy served as a missionary for three years in remote parts of the Philippines and Mozambique until he met his lovely wife Beth (who grew up in Africa). Troy and Beth married in 2000 and ministered at a church in South Carolina for four years before moving to Central Asia to lead a missions team with the International Mission Board. They served as IMB missionaries for twelve years, ministering in a war-torn part of Central Asia and then later basing out of London, England. The Lord called Troy full-circle back to Niceville, where he began serving as senior pastor at Rocky in 2016. He enjoys hiking, paddle boarding and spending time with Beth and their three children: Grace, Tim, and Christine. His life verse is Psalm 37:4: “Delight yourself in the LORD, and He will give you the desires of your heart.”

  • Billy Moore

    Billy hails from Birmingham, AL. He earned a degree in Aerospace Engineering from Auburn University and then ventured into the US Air Force where he served for 22 years as a Weapon Systems Officer (WSO) flying in the F-4E and F-15E. His last assignment brought him and his family to Eglin AFB in July 2000 where he immediately joined Rocky. He retired from the USAF in 2006 but still works on base as a test engineer. He and his wife Holly currently teach 1st and 2nd Graders in Sunday school. He served as a deacon for about 14 years, has been in the choir since first arriving, served as our Awana Commander, T&T Director, Cubbies Director, and LIFE Group leader. Billy currently leads our Disaster Relief Clean Up and Recovery Team. His son, Joshua, is married with 2 kids and lives in Colorado. Josh’s twin sister, Rebecca, lives in Freeport and is an accountant. His youngest daughter, Hannah, is an elementary school music teacher in Pensacola.

  • Joshua Latham

    Originally a Texas native, Joshua was stationed locally on several occasions throughout his life both as a dependent and while on active duty in the Air Force. He and his wife, Susan, have been a members of Rocky Bayou Baptist church since 2006. Joshua came to know the Christ at an early age and many years later felt the Lord’s call on his life into the medical field. After graduating from the University of Florida, Joshua attended medical school in Fort Worth, Texas and currently works as an urgent care and emergency room physician. Although no longer active duty, he still serves in the Air Force Reserve at Duke Field as a flight surgeon. He has been married to his lovely wife since 2002 and they have four incredible children named Luke, Brooke, Isaiah, and Rebekah. Joshua’s passions include family, playing sports, and supporting foreign mission work.


  • Ken Bandy

    Ken was born and raised in Orlando, FL.  He married his pastor’s daughter, Lanie, in 1980.  After finishing the University of Central Florida with a degree in Electrical Engineering, Ken served in the US Air Force for 20 years.  The Bandys’ two grown kids, Katie and Kyle, were born during these wonderful AF years.  Their final Air Force tour was here at Eglin.  Upon their arrival to Niceville, the Bandys joined RBBC in 1997, and have been blessed to serve and worship here continually since then.  After his retirement from active duty in 2003, Ken began another career as an Air Force civilian.  In God’s kindness, Ken has served at Rocky in various capacities, including Deacon, adult Bible Teacher, children’s Sunday School teacher, and Life Group leader.  He enjoys time with family, golf, fishing, reading, woodworking, car repair, and home renovation.

  • Bill Berry

    Bill was born and raised outside of Boston, MA. In high school he began reading the Bible in the hopes of gaining more wisdom. Thankfully, God used it to draw Bill to Himself, and he submitted himself to Christ and went on to UMaine where he was discipled and became involved in the Navigators ministry. He moved to Massachusetts to minister with the Navigators at Springfield College where he earned a Masters in Movement Science. While in Springfield, he met his wife, Karen, and together they raised five lovely children and have four wonderful grandchildren. In 2014, the Berry clan began attending Rocky. Bill has enjoyed teaching Sunday School and Adult Bible Fellowship. In his free time, Bill enjoys studying the Bible, biking, and lifting weights.

  • Bill Turner

    Bill was born in Oklahoma. He earned his Bachelor’s degree from Oklahoma Baptist University, and a Master’s degree from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Bill has served churches as a student pastor / associate pastor in Oklahoma, Missouri, and Florida. Bill has been married to Melissa Turner for 25+ years. They have four children (Josh, Alison, Lydia, and Chesed). Bill and Melissa met in college and married soon after finishing college. Bill and Melissa have a passion to join parents in the discipleship and evangelism of their teenagers. He has been committed to student ministry for over 16 years. 2 Corinthians 12:9 has been the guiding verse for Bill’s life. It says, “But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” Bill hopes he will be the kind of man that is fully aware of his weaknesses, in order to be fully sustained by God.

  • Bart Swan

    Type the content for this list item here. This is just example text to show you what it will look like when you enter text content into this list item. Your unique, authentic, and appropriate text will be filled into this section. Once you click into this text area, you will see the filler text disappear.