ABOUT US
OUR LEADERS, MISSION, & CORE VALUES
WHO WE ARE
Royal Lane Baptist Church is a welcoming community where every person is valued and loved just as they are. We strive to follow Christ with open hearts and open minds: celebrating diversity, practicing grace, and seeking justice together. Wherever you are on your faith journey, you have a place here.
OUR STORY
Royal Lane Baptist Church began nearly 75 years ago as a mission church committed to building something that lasts. From the start, we embraced a core belief that every person is valued, and that conviction continues to shape who we are.
Our history is defined by courageous firsts that expanded who could lead and belong. In 1977, we ordained our first female deacons. In 1981, we welcomed Dallas’s first Baptist female associate pastor and called Texas’s first divorced senior pastor, Reverend Ray Vickrey, who led for 27 years. Over time we ordained Dallas’s first LGBTQIA+ deacon, officiated the city’s first same gender wedding in a Baptist church, ordained our first Black female deacon, and later called Texas’s first Baptist LGBTQIA+ associate pastor, Reverend Tim Schaefer. Most recently, we called Reverend Victoria Robb Powers as senior pastor, the first woman to lead a Baptist church in the Dallas and Fort Worth area.
We have consistently chosen bold steps that strengthen our community. Our sanctuary, completed in 1966 and renovated several times including in 2025, reflects our commitment to renewal. In 1991, we left the Southern Baptist Convention to support women in ministry. In 2010, we left the Baptist General Convention of Texas so we could be publicly open and affirming of LGBTQIA+ people, followed by a formal partnership with the Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists. In 2021, we received a THRIVE grant from the Alliance of Baptists and the Lily Endowment for our work in racial justice, and this year we received a grant from the Baugh Foundation to launch our Prophetic Leadership Program.
Our legacy is clear. We lead with conviction, welcome with intention, and continue to build a church where every person can flourish.
LEADERSHIP
Senior Pastor Victoria Robb Powers
Born and raised in West Texas, Rev. Victoria Robb Powers brings a deep-rooted love of faith and community to Royal Lane Baptist Church. As a proud Hispanic woman, she holds a Bachelor of Arts in Religion and Philosophy from Baylor University and a Master of Divinity from Brite Divinity School at Texas Christian University.
Before entering congregational ministry, she served two years as a hospital chaplain, a role that shaped her compassionate approach to pastoral care. For the past decade, she has dedicated herself to serving church communities, blending thoughtful leadership with a genuine passion for inclusion and spiritual growth.
Royal Lane Baptist Church proudly celebrates Rev. Robb Powers as the first female senior pastor among Baptist churches in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, a historic milestone for the church and the wider community.
She currently serves on the board of the Baptist House of Studies at Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University, on the board of Fellowship Southwest—Royal Lane’s largest community partner, and as a member of the peer advisory group for Parkland Hospital’s Clinical Pastoral Education program.
An author as well as a pastor, she co-wrote My Love God Is Everywhere (2023), a children’s book created with Cameron Mason Vickrey. Two additional books are under contract and slated for publication in 2025.
Her voice has been featured in regional publications like Preston Hollow People, The Lake Highlands and Park Cities Advocate Magazine, and The Dallas Morning News. And, in 2024, she was interviewed on CNN for a segment highlighting Baptist female pastors. Married to her husband Matt for 15 years, she is also a proud mother of three children, ages 9, 7, and 4.
Through her leadership, writing, and ministry, she continues to inspire and guide the Royal Lane community with grace, courage, and vision.
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