Leadership
At Forest Baptist Church, our leadership team is made up of elders, ministry staff and deacons. Scroll down to see those who serve in each of these ways.
Elders
Our congregation is led and fed by multiple shepherds (e.g. pastors, elders). We believe this is the pattern from Scripture. The “elder-led” approach provides us with sound guidance from biblically-qualified men. We believe that all of the elders are pastors of the congregation and work together.
Some of our elders are employed by the church (see Staff pages), though most work in secular jobs. All elders meet the stated qualifications for this office as laid out in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1. They meet regularly to pray and provide spiritual oversight on matters concerning the church.
Stephen Putney
Associate Pastor
Steve holds a DMin from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School as well as a Master of Theology from Grace Theological Seminary. As of January 2017, he serves as associate pastor at FBC. Steve also teaches apologetics at LU Online. He and his wife Frankie have two daugthers.
Mark Allen
Elder
Mark holds a PhD in Theology from the University of Notre Dame, a DMin from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, and a ThM from Dallas Theological Seminary. Presently, Mark serves as the Chair of Biblical Studies at Liberty University. Prior to his career in education, he served as a pastor and church planter in Richmond, VA for 15 years. He and his wife Karen have three children and numerous grandchildren.
Tyler Scarlett
Pastor-Teacher
Tyler holds a DMin and MDiv from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary as well as an MAR from LBTS. Tyler serves as the teaching pastor at FBC, sharing God’s Word during both Sunday services as well as Wednesday. Tyler also teaches expositional preaching at Liberty University. He and his unbelievably amazing wife Rebecca have six children.
Mark Hernandez
Elder
Mark Holds recently retired art director who served in the intelligence community federal service for 30 years in the Washington, DC area. He has lived in Texas and NoVA. He has a Master of Arts in Theological Studies from Liberty Seminary. He is married to Carol and they joined our church in 2015.
Joe Veres
Missions & Administration
Joe earned a BA in Business Administration from Averett University and holds a Master of Arts in Intercultural Studies from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. He and his family came to FBC in 2002 and was hired as our Minister of Missions & Administration in 2007. He and his wife April have two sons and numerous grandchildren.
Paul Boatner
Elder
Paul earned an EdD from the University of Southern California and was awarded an honorary Doctor of Divinity by Southern California Seminary. In addition he holds two masters degrees in counseling. He was a career educator having served as a faculty member, Dean, and Vice President at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. He retired in 2015 as the president of an international accrediting agency for Christian colleges and universities. He and his wife Mary have children and numerous grandchildren.
Donnie Scarlett
Elder
Donnie came to Christ at the age of 25. He earned a BA in Theology from Immanuel Baptist College and an Accounting Degree from Draughn’s Business College. He pastored SBC churches for nearly 40 years and today is retired. He serves in the Sunday School, Senior Adult Ministry, and Music Ministry. He and his wife Nancy have three children and umpteen grandchildren.
Church Staff
While our elders are responsible for the shepherding and teaching ministry of the church, we do employee paid staff – both men and women – who assist them in carrying out the ministries of the church. Some of our staff are employed full-time; others are part-time.
Click a staff member’s name below to be taken to their staff information page.
Reed Hernandez
Director of Student Ministry
Jill Murphy
Director of Music Ministry
Tim Helm
Director of Children’s Ministry
Shelley Childress
Church Secretary
Deacon Ministry
The Deacon Ministry at Forest Baptist Church is organized around two goals: serving the Lord and His church. With Acts 6:1-6 as our model, each deacon has a specific area of service which he oversees in a tangible, hands-on way. The deacons recruit and organize volunteers, from the membership, to accomplish their ministry objectives. The deacons serve on a rotation basis.
Willis Pillow
Deacon of Benevolence & Cemetery
Serves through administration of the benevolence fund and seeking to help and serve those who are in need off specific financial help, particularly church members but also those in our community.
Serves through administration of the Forest Baptist Church cemetery, including tending to the perpetual care fund, overseeing upkeep, maintaining cemetery guidelines (see Church Constitution), preparing for burial needs, and
working with Administrative Pastor on all cemetery-related matters.
Bradley Blank
Deacon of Finances
Serves the church by organizing the church Tellers, assisting the Treasurer and helping the congregation maintaining biblical stewardship.
Travis Branch
Deacon of Security
Serves the church by recruiting, organizing, scheduling, and training team of members to maintain constant vigilance during all church gatherings, with an eye towards maintaining safety and security, especially with children
and youth ministry.
Owen Fahy
Deacon of Music & AV
Serves the church by monitoring and overseeing the Audio/Visual aspects of our worship services and assists our Director of Music Ministry as needed.
Josh Miller
Deacon of Ordinances
Serves the church by setting up, organizing, and assisting with the regular observance of the ordinances: baptism and the Lord’s Supper.
Jared Lockhart
Deacon of Widows & Shut-Ins
Serves by keeping an accurate record of all church widows and shut-ins and regularly seeks out ways to serve and assist them – informing the Pastor-Teacher of any urgent needs.
Clint Hunter
Deacon of IT
Serves the church by editing, posting, and maintaining our technology needs, including Facebook and website.
Joel Rainey
Deacon of Ushers & Greeters
Serves the church by recruiting, organizing, scheduling, and overseeing a team of church greeters to welcome visitors and assist at the doors for each service and helping with special services or gatherings.
David Snead
Deacon of Local Evangelism & Outreach
Serves the church and community by organizing and implementing local mission efforts, including visitors follow-up, outreach events, and able to provide evangelism training (working closely with our Associate Pastor).