Meet our Pastors

The Pastors, also called Elders, shepherd Acts and Oversee all functions of the church. They pursue the vision and direction that the Lord sets and hold to the standard set forth in Scripture for their roles. 

Billy Bernhard 
lead Pastor

​At the age of seven, Billy asked Jesus into his life as his Savior but did not truly understand what it meant for Him to be both his Lord and Savior; he just didn’t want to go to hell. Soon after, he watched his parents go through a divorce and became very angry. He began to get into all kinds of trouble. He was arrested and found himself facing time in the juvenile center. Like many of us do when we get into trouble, he cried out to God that night and promised he would not go back to his same ways.  

The next day he was released and went right back to his old life, only this time, he almost took someone’s life. He knew his life had to change but didn’t know how to change. Shortly after, during his summer of 9th grade, he had the option of spending the summer with his grandparents or going to a Christian summer camp in South Padre. In South Padre, he surrendered his life over completely to the Lord Jesus and has never been the same again. From then on, Jesus began to heal him and took away his anger; Jesus restored his life. 

When Billy graduated from high school, the Lord put the desire in his heart to preach His Gospel and help people know that God can restore them too. God has given Billy the gift of evangelism, and everywhere he goes people come to know Christ. So far, God has allowed Billy to preach His Gospel in 17different countries around the world and here in America as well.

He has also been involved with FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) and participated in street preaching, working with gangs in the inner-city, helping start and flourish a lot of ministries, and much more. He graduated from Houston Baptist University in 2002 with a double major in Theology and History and studied biblical counseling at The Master’s College. He taught at a Christian private school in Pasadena and later in the juvenile centers in Houston.
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He served as a youth pastor for several years at a few churches before being called by God to plant Acts Community Church on Oct. 31, 2010. His heart has always desired to go where no one else wants to go: back into the cities. He wants to see the cities won over to Christ one person at a time and causing a ripple effect within our communities. He has a beautiful God fearing wife, Nadia, whom he married on December 6, 2008. Nadia has a Masters in Biblical Counseling. She is also a certified biblical counselor through the Association of Biblical Counselors (ACBC) and currently is practicing biblical counseling at Acts Community Church. They have four beautiful daughters and expecting their fifth daughter in May 2017. 

RAY Rodriguez
Outreach Pastor

Ray Rodriguez is a Vocational Minister of the Gospel of Christ Jesus. He has been publicly preaching and teaching the Gospel of Christ since 2008. Ray led his first sermon when he was seventeen years old in front of his youth group. This later lead him into speaking roles at church camps, retreats and youth conferences during the summers of his early twenty's. During the school year Ray spent his time leading a all men's bible study at Dairy Queen on Mondays nights, leading a youth group at La Porte High School on Wednesday nights, and leading the opening prayer before every football game for the La Porte bulldogs on Friday nights. He truly has a heart for discipleship and there is nothing more worthy of celebrating (apart from salvation) to him than to see the people he is investing in, grow in the heart and knowledge of Christ Jesus.

Ray is currently finishing up his Pastoral Degree from the College of Biblical Studies (CBS) in Houston, Texas with the intent of using all the tools and resources that he has been given to continue on more effectively in the ministry of reconciliation, as Jesus continues to build His Church. Currently, Ray is the Missional Community Group (MCG) Pastor at Acts Community Church. He oversees all the missional community groups that includes shepherding the community group leaders. As well as, strategizing on innovating ways to multiply so that we have a community group in each neighborhood leading to the birth of a new church. Ray is also a big time family man, a youth football coach, a Los Angles Rams fan, and a sizzling plate of grilled fajitas lover.

Jarod Dyess
Teaching Pastor

Jarod was raised in a Christian home, and made a decision to follow Jesus at an early age. Throughout his youth, church was a part of his regular life, but it wasn’t until 2007 that he realized that being a disciple of Christ is more than just believing – as followers of Jesus we must be obedient to the Lord’s commands to serve, love, and share Jesus to those around us. He and his older brother started a college ministry at San Jacinto Central and set out to make sure students knew who Jesus was. Jarod soon after joined the Acts family in the spring of 2011 and has ever since been excited to see how God is moving in the Southeast Houston Area. He has served in many areas of the church in the past including the kid’s ministry, worship team, and drama team and has served as a community group leader, on the board of directors and as a deacon. God has clearly called Jarod to ministry and has gifted him in the areas of teaching and administration. 

Jarod currently serves as a counselor and administrator for a ministry that Acts Community Church supports, Youth-Reach Houston. Since 2013, Jarod has been married to Eva, whom he met at college at a See You at the Pole Rally. They both look forward to adopting and having kids of their own when the Lord wills this. Jarod enjoys playing guitar, cooking, learning and teaching new things. Eva enjoys playing piano, cleaning, and making hair bows.

Deacons at Acts

While the Pastors focus on Spiritual matters and Leading the church, the Deacons serve in the church by seeing that the physical needs of members, family, and visitors are being met. 

Martin & Sylvia Mendoza

Lucinda Ruvalcaba

Dale & Debbie Bright

Matt Haile

Meet Our Staff

These are the folks that help keep Acts running smoothly!

LAURA RAMIREZ

IRION ALEXANDER

Administrative Assistant

Accounting Lead