OUR LEADERS
Pray’s Mill Baptist Church is made up of a body of Christ that is served by two distinct offices. These two offices are elder and deacon. Our church is a pastor led congregation. Rather than one CEO pastor who runs the entire church, our congregation is led by multiple pastors who desire to oversee, feed, and lead the church family. This model is rooted in the New Testament structure of the early church where we see multiple pastors serving individual churches (James 5; Acts 20).
Pray’s Mill operates under the oversight of a plurality of elders (pastors) and the church is served by a plurality of deacons. The deacons are gifted and set aside for ministry service and the pastors are gifted and appointed for the purpose of leadership through God’s Word.
Elders (pastors):
- Josh Buice: Pastor Josh serves as the leader among equals, overseeing various ministries within the church and putting his main focus on the pulpit ministry—the weekly preaching of God’s Word.
- Matt Sikes: Pastor Matt oversees the general discipleship and worship ministries of our church.
- Dylan Joyner: Pastor Dylan oversees the discipleship ministry of children and families.
Non-Vocational Elders (pastors):
Each of our pastors oversees the vision, direction, and shepherding needs of our church family. This includes meeting together, praying together, and sharing in the physical and spiritual needs of our church family.
As God gifts our church with other men who desire the office of pastor, we add to our current group of elders who labor together to oversee the church of Jesus Christ.
Deacons (Assisting the Elders in the Care of Christ’s Church):
- Michael Anthony
- Clif Brockman
- Marcellus Clark
- C J Ellis
- Scott Eskew
- Tommy Hester
- Judson Hughey
- Leon Johnston
- Steve Knight
- Ed Murphy
- Brandon Seale
Our deacons come along side the elders and work in close connection with them to care for the body of Christ at Pray’s Mill. The deacons assist the elders in meeting many of the practical needs of the church to free the elders to focus on their primary calling in the ministry of the Word and prayer (see Acts 6:4). Each of these men have been chosen from among the congregation, and have been tested and meet the qualifications for the office of deacon as laid out in 1 Timothy 3:8–13.