Passing the pastoral torch

Ever since 1984, Houston’s Faith Fellowship church has been led by the same pastor: Bill Villapiano.

That’s about to change, as Villapiano will step aside and the church’s new leader will be Jeff McNiell.

“This 41-year journey has been a good journey,” Villapiano said. “When you do what Jeff and I do, you feel like it’s more than a vocation, it’s a calling. I feel like I did what I was supposed to do and I’ve fulfilled my calling.”

Villapiano was raised in Chicago and moved to Houston with his family when he was 13. He went on to graduate from Houston High School in 1975, finished Bible School in 1982 and became pastor at Faith Fellowship in March of 1984. He is a longtime member of the Houston Ministerial Alliance, serves as a regional director for Association of Faith Churches and Ministers (AFCM) and has worked as a consultant and speaker for Focus on the Family, helping churches and pastors develop a strategy for nurturing faith in the home.

“One of the best things about doing this is being a part of families,” Villapiano said. “And watching a life change – sometimes drastically in a short period of time and sometimes over the course of a lifetime. It can be very rewarding.”

But it’s not always about smiles and good times.

“One of the harder things is losing people,” Villapiano said. “You’ve known someone for much of their life and then they’re gone. And it’s hard when people leave the church – but most of those people are still my friends. And confrontation is hard, but sometimes it’s necessary.”

McNiell, 46, is a Houston native who moved to the Cape Girardeau area as an 8^th-grader in 1992 when his father was promoted and assigned to work there during his career as a Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper. McNiell graduated from Kelly High School and went on to attend Southeast Missouri State University for two years. He then began working for a newspaper in Sikeston and recognized he loved sports journalism.

That led McNiell to earn a degree in journalism from the University of Missouri in 2002 and he ended up working at a newspaper in Poplar Bluff. In 2006, he received an offer from Houston Herald owner and publisher Brad Gentry and decided to return to his hometown to raise his family.

McNiell served as a youth pastor at Faith Fellowship from 2014 to 2019, and then went to Iowa and worked in youth ministry full time before returning to Houston in June of 2022. He then rejoined the staff at Faith Fellowship as a young adult pastor, as well as taking a position as a communications director and college and career advisor with the Houston School District.

McNiell will leave the school district this spring and on July 1 will return to full-time work at the Houston Herald with current owner and publisher Isaiah Buse.

“I want people to understand that I’m doing both, but the church will be my priority,” McNiell said. “I’ve talked to Isaiah about it a lot; we have a great arrangement and I’m excited about it.”

McNiell’s wife, Brittney, is an administrative assistant for the Houston School District. Their daughter, Gracyn, is a high school junior and their son, Landrum, is an 8^th-grader at the middle school.

Faith Fellowship opened in 1981.

“The church has been good to me and the community has been good to my family,” Villapiano said. “I don’t have any regrets that I spent those 41 years in Houston and Texas County.”

The transition at Faith Fellowship will be complete on Sunday, April 27 – Villapiano’s final day as its leader. He and McNiell have been planning and preparing for the move for about 10 years.

“I’m incredibly humbled,” McNiell said. “I feel fortunate to basically have been a sponge and soak up everything Pastor Bill knows and be a part of all he has invested in me. I believe that who I am today as a man, a leader and a pastor is a reflection on him.”

Faith Fellowship has more than 200 members.

“I’m humbled that God would choose me for this and that Pastor Bill would trust me to take leadership of a church he’s led for 41 years,” McNiell said. “It’s a big calling and a big duty and I’m humbled by the opportunity. I’m ready and I’m looking forward to it.”

Villapiano and his wife, June, have four children and seven grandchildren. He will remain as part of Faith Fellowship’s family and staff.

“What a beautiful benefit,” McNiell said, “that when I have a question or need something, he’s going to be right there to advise me and encourage me.”

“I’m confident about this and I know it’s the right thing to do,” Villapiano said. “I’ve said some of the kindest things about Jeff that I’ve ever said about another guy, and they’ve all be as genuine as could be. I have a lot of friends who have pastored for a long time and I wish they all had a Jeff McNiell to turn things over to.

“I’ve done this for 41 years, so I know some things about pastoring. But I don’t mind saying that Jeff has gifts I don’t have and he has a higher ceiling than me. This church is going to thrive under his leadership.”

Many people in other positions of leadership at Faith Fellowship have maintained those roles for many years.

“One of the good things Jeff will inherit is that leadership that’s been in place for so long,” Villapiano said. “And that’s an important thing; we’re having a change in pastor, but we’re not having a bunch of turnover in our leadership.”

“That foundation has been in place for a long time,” McNiell said. “They’ve known this was coming for several years, and their support is going to be a great benefit.”

This Sunday (April 27), Faith Fellowship will host a day-long event honoring Villapiano, and many people who played various roles during his lengthy stint will be in attendance. There will be special dinner that evening, followed by a special service and reception presented by the Ministerial Alliance.

“It will be a full day of honoring, recognition, thanks and transition,” McNiell said. “The public is definitely invited to these celebrations. We would love to have lots of people join us.”

Detailed information about Faith Fellowship is available online at the church’s website and Facebook page.

“Our community can expect that the love and care and ministry that have been pillars under Pastor Bill’s leadership at Faith Fellowship will continue,” McNiell said. “We’ll continue to love on people, worship Jesus and make it about Him and not me. I’m adamant that whatever direction this church goes will be led by the Holy Spirit and not by my own ideas.

“I’m committed to being surrendered to that.”