Staff

St. John's has a talented staff that is dedicated to serving the Lord through serving our church.

Ministerial Team

Dennis Foust
Senior Minister
dfoust@stjohnsbaptistchurch.org

Dennis Foust became Senior Minister of St. John’s in August, 2011. He has served congregations, as both a pastor and an associate pastor, in Birmingham, AL; Atlanta, GA; Chattanooga, TN; San Antonio, TX; and Louisville, KY.

Born in Poplar Bluff, Missouri, Dennis’ family lineage traces to Alamance County, NC in the early 1700s. The oldest child of a Baptist pastor, Dennis grew up in western Kentucky, southern Indiana, Little Rock, Arkansas and Kansas City, Missouri. Majoring in religion at Oakland City University, he focused in the areas of biblical studies, theological foundations and pastoral leadership. While earning his masters and doctorate, at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, he studied congregational life and leadership.

Dennis has served in numerous roles of Baptist, ecumenical and community leadership. He has traveled the nation exploring interfaith initiatives and the impact of increased religious pluralism. He is committed to helping Baptists live by the historic principles of congregational autonomy, religious freedom, Church-State separation and soul competence. He has written extensively in the areas of Bible study and the missional church and offered contributions to books and periodicals to help adults apply Christian principles to life issues such as peacemaking and ministry in daily life. He has spoken in congregations in twenty states and was the founding design editor for Formations for Adults, a spiritual formation resource for adults.

He enjoys reading, writing, mentoring young leaders and golf. A big baseball fan, he has watched baseball games in twenty-seven of the thirty major league stadiums. His wife, Paula, is a graduate of The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and is a professional in the area of senior adult services. They are parents of three young adult children, Nathan, Rachael, and Caleb.

Lee Gray
Minister for Youth and Young Adults
lee@stjohnsbaptistchurch.org

Lee, a native Charlottean, grew up in Providence Baptist Church. He has a B.A. in Religion and Philosophy from Campbell University. He came to St. John’s as an intern in 1997. Upon completing his internship, he received his M.Div. degree from Baptist Theological Seminary in Richmond, VA and came on the full time ministerial staff. He has two sons, Warren and Wilson.

Lee enjoys playing basketball, skiing, rafting, reading and time with his two sons.

Warren Howell
Minister for Worship and Music
warren@stjohnsbaptistchurch.org

Maureen Howell
Organist
maureen@stjohnsbaptistchurch.org

The Howells joined St. John’s Music Ministry in 2001 after having served in similar capacities in Virginia and Florida churches. Warren, a native of California, holds degrees from Baylor University and the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Maureen is a native of Virginia and holds degrees from The College of William and Mary and also from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. They have two children, a daughter, Clara, and a son, Andrew (1990-2010)

Warren and Maureen enjoy travel, cooking, literature.

Martha Kearse
Associate Minister
martha@stjohnsbaptistchurch.org

Martha grew up in Virginia, where she attended The College of William and Mary, receiving a

B.A. in English/Education. She moved to Charlotte in 1985, teaching in the Charlotte/Mecklenburg School system until 1997. During her time with CMS, she completed her M.A. in English at UNCC. She joined the St. John’s ministerial staff in 2001 and completed her M.Div. degree at Gardner-Webb University Divinity School in 2007. She and her husband, Monty, have three children – Mattie, Conner and Anna Frances.

Martha is an avid reader and enjoys various book clubs and talking about literature. She likes movies, watching “Modern Family” with her kids, traveling with her family in the minivan. She would rather live in the mountains, but likes the beach, too.

Administrative & Support Staff

Peggy Harrison
Administrative Assistant
peggy@stjohnsbaptistchurch.org

Elaine Johnson
Financial Secretary
elaine@stjohnsbaptistchurch.org

Floarea Secere
Custodian

Steve Taylor
Building Superintendent