Rev. Howard Griffin is the Senior Pastor and Head of Staff at First Pres. He's been here since 2010. Howard and his wife, Sarah, have 3 children: Hannah, Elizabeth, and John. Howard earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Trinity University, a Master of Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary, and a Doctorate of Ministry from Fuller Theological Seminary.

From 1996-2000, Howard was a Consultant with PriceWatherhouseCoopers. In 2001, he served as Seminary Intern at the Presbyterian Church of Toms River, New Jersey. In 2002 Howard served as Seminary Intern at Central Presbyterian Church in Summit, New Jersey. From 2003 – 2006, he was the Associate Pastor of College and Singles at First Presbyterian Church of Houston, Texas, and from 2006 – 2010 Howard served as Associate Pastor of Evangelism, Mission & Outreach at Highland Park Presbyterian Church of Dallas, Texas.

Howard loves the people of First Pres and feels that the members here have a genuine love for the Lord, for His word, and for one another. Describing First Pres, Howard says "…it's a Christ - centered, Bible - based community that is committed to doing the work of God’s Kingdom here in Amarillo and abroad."
For fun, Howard enjoys basketball, hiking, and golf. His favorite authors include John Stott, Dallas Willard, Timothy Keller, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, C.S. Lewis, Philip Yancey, and John Ortberg. His favorite book is The Bible and his favorite movie is “Chariots of Fire."If he has the choice, fajitas are always good! Howard lists John 15:5 as a favorite Bible verse: “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing."

Howard describes himself like this: "I’m a bit of an ecumenical mutt. My father was a Methodist, and my Mom was a Baptist when they got married. The big compromise of their marriage was to become Presbyterian, but I grew up attending the vacation Bible schools of all three denominations (Presbyterian, Baptist, and Methodist). I also attended an Episcopal school from when I was four until the 9th grade in Midland, Texas where I went to chapel everyday."