Josh Powell is married to Allison Koon Powell, both from Lexington, South Carolina. He has four children. Pastor Josh is a graduate of North Greenville University with a Bachelor of Arts degree. He also received a Master of Divinity from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and is currently a Doctor of Philosophy Candidate at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary working towards a PhD in Church History.
Josh is the 2020 past President of the South Carolina Baptist Convention. He also currently serves as a member of the Executive Committee of the South Carolina Baptist Convention, as well as a Trustee of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. The Lord has given Josh the desire to pastor and/or train pastors. His greatest desire is to preach the Word, anywhere and everywhere, and to see all believers grow in the knowledge and wisdom of the Lord.
Kevin Batson is a graduate of Furman University with a Bachelor of Music in Church Music, and received a Master of Music degree in Conducting from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Ft. Worth, TX. He and his wife, Teresa Huffman Batson, have two daughters and four grandchildren.
Having served churches in Texas, North Carolina, Virginia, and Missouri, Kevin has been Worship Pastor at Taylors FBC since 2008. His greatest joy is leading the congregation to encounter God in worship each week and encouraging other worship leaders, both in our Taylors FBC volunteer teams and choirs of all ages, and in churches in our area and across the country.
Steven is from Ninety Six, SC and is a graduate of Charleston Southern University and Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. In 1990, he married his college sweetheart, Debbie, and they have been blessed with five children and four grandchildren. Prior to joining the staff at Taylors FBC, Steven and Debbie served 17 years as missionaries with the IMB in different parts of Asia. Steven desires to see every member of the local body equipped and involved in reaching others in their neighborhoods and among all nations.
Chris was born in Greenville and grew up in the upstate of South Carolina. He and his wife, Laura, have a son and a daughter. He is a graduate of North Greenville University and attended The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Chris was ordained at Marietta First Baptist Church in Marietta, SC, in August of 2001. After college, Chris worked as a manufacturing manager for Milliken & Company. He has planted Spanish language churches in Marietta, SC, and Louisville, KY. While in seminary, in addition to the Hispanic ministry, he worked as Archives and Special Collections Assistant at the James P. Boyce Centennial Library. He returned to South Carolina to serve as Senior Pastor at Blue Ridge Baptist Church in Greer. Before joining the Taylors First Baptist pastoral staff, Chris served as Executive Pastor at Lake Murray Baptist, Lexington, SC. Chris has a passion for strengthening relationships within the body of Christ, stewarding church resources to develop disciples with a desire to be engaged in missional living.
Jeremy Thompson is married to Cyndi Thompson. Jeremy is from Greenville, South Carolina and has four children. Pastor Jeremy is a graduate of College of Charleston with a Bachelor of Science degree. He also received a Master of Divinity from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and is currently a Doctor of Ministry Candidate at the Clamp Divinity School at Anderson University working towards a Doctorate of Ministry in 21st Century Ministry.
Jeremy served 12 years with the International Mission Board and has been on staff at Taylors First Baptist Church since 2012. The Lord has given Jeremy the desire to equip believers to grow as disciples of Christ Jesus, and a desire to see churches planted among the least reached peoples of the world. His greatest desire is to make disciples who make disciples among all peoples!
Kathy is married to Ken, and they have two sons and four grandchildren. Kathy and Ken work closely together in ministry by combining his leadership in a local non-profit with her experience in various facets of ministry. Kathy holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Education from Columbia College. Her professional life includes over 20 years of experience in the realm of business and adult education alongside of 20 years in ministry. She served as Director of Family Ministries at Edwards Road Baptist Church before coming to Taylors FBC as the Minister of Adults in 2005. Kathy’s role in ministry at Taylors FBC has evolved over the years based on her passion to connect people with opportunities to grow as disciples of Christ and to help them build strong healthy marriages and families. She has a desire to see our church serve the surrounding community, build relationships, and share the hope of the gospel.
Josh has been serving at Taylors FBC since the summer of 2019 as the Minister of Students. He is a graduate of Hannibal-LaGrange University with a Bachelor of Science degree and is currently pursuing a Masters of Divinity from The Rawlings School of Divinity at Liberty University. Josh has been married to Brittany since 2014 and they have two children, Selah and Silas. Prior to serving at Taylors FBC, Josh was a Student Pastor in Alabama for five years and worked for Lifeway’s Fuge Camps for four years. Josh has a passion to preach the Word in an authentic way that will communicate to anyone that hears, especially teenagers. His desire for teenagers today is to become culture-shaping disciple-makers that stand with conviction on the truth of God’s Word. For fun, Josh loves watching the greatest football player to ever live, Tom Brady, dominate and win Super Bowls.
Joseph Eskridge is married to Ashley Eskridge. Joseph is from Tangier, Virginia and has three children. He is a graduate of Liberty University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biblical Studies. Joseph served two years on staff at Thomas Road Baptist Church as a 4th and 5th Grade Pastor and has been on staff at Taylors First Baptist Church since 2018. The Lord has given Joseph the desire to partner with parents in the discipleship of their children. His greatest desire is to help parents build kindling around the hearts of their children, and to see the Holy Spirit light that fire, leading to a belief in Jesus Christ as their Savior.
Nathan Finn is a native of Georgia who has lived in the Greenville area since 2018. He and his wife, Leah, are the parents of four children. Nathan is a theologian and church historian who previously served as a full-time faculty member at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and Union University prior to relocating to South Carolina. In addition to serving as bivocational Teaching Pastor at Taylors FBC, he serves as the full-time Provost and Dean of the University Faculty at North Greenville University.
Nathan is a graduate of Brewton-Parker College (B.A. in History) and Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary (MDiv and PhD). He writes widely on Baptist history and thought, higher education, and spiritual formation. He also serves as the current Recording Secretary of the Southern Baptist Convention.
Molly Holder is married to Ryan Holder. She is originally from Columbia, South Carolina, and has three children. Molly is a graduate of Clemson University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Therapeutic Recreation. Molly’s ministry background includes her position as Children’s and Youth Director at a church in Columbia prior to her role at Taylors FBC. Molly is passionate about preparing children’s leaders in the church to carry out God’s purpose. She believes that our Taylors Children leaders influence a child’s faith by sharing Christ faithfully and helping every preschooler feel known. Molly is also passionate about partnering with parents in the discipleship process of their preschooler, and she believes that what happens at home is more important than what happens at church!
Daryl Hopkins is married to Dee and they have two children and three grandchildren. He has been on Taylors staff for 29 years. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Furman University. Through college and afterward, he served as a volunteer for Young Life and then on staff as an area director. He studied youth ministry at Fuller Seminary and later earned a Master of Divinity degree from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. After seminary, he took a position at First Baptist Church of Bamberg, SC, and became the director of Awanita Valley Christian Camp in Greenville County. He and Dee and their children left camp and accepted a call to Taylors FBC. Several years later the Ministry of Recreation role was created, and Daryl was asked to take the position. Since then, he has become a member of the American College of Sports Medicine and the National Academy of Sports Medicine through which he has achieved certifications in personal training, corrective exercise, performance enhancement, youth fitness specialist and senior fitness specialist. His desire is to use the areas of sports, leisure, fitness, wellness, and adventure recreation to create relationships with people of like interest to tell them about Jesus.
Jerry Long is a native of Greenville and is married to Lynne Tate Long of Spartanburg. He and Lynne have two daughters and three grandchildren. He has a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from Clemson University and a Master of Divinity from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, TX. During his ministry he has served churches in Louisiana and South Carolina. Jerry has been Pastoral Care Pastor at Taylors FBC since January 2018. He also works alongside Taylors’ FBC Senior Adults. One of his greatest joys in ministry is helping those who are sick, facing death, or grieving the loss of a loved one find peace and comfort in the Lord during difficult times. He also finds joy in communicating God’s truth through preaching, teaching, and writing.
Scott Norman is married to Farrah Norman, and they are raising three teenage sons. He is a graduate of the University of Florida with a Bachelor of Music in Music Education. After teaching Elementary Music in the public school system for three years in Florida and Texas, he felt God’s call to ministry. Subsequently, he received a Master of Divinity from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, TX while serving as Worship Leader at Bear Valley Church in Colleyville, TX. Scott has previously served as Worship Pastor at Real Life Fellowship in Corpus Christi, TX before being called to serve as Minister of Worship at Taylors FBC in 2009. His passion and calling is leading the congregation to encounter God through scripture-guided worship each week that is Christ exalting, God honoring, and theologically sound.
Alex Smith is a graduate of North Greenville University with a degree in Outdoor Education and Leadership. Alex met his wife at NGU and married in December of 2012. They have 4 children and enjoy being active in the outdoors as a family year-round. Alex is passionate about reaching and equipping college-aged young adults with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Using recreation and being outside together is one of Alex’s favorite vehicles to share Gospel. Ephesians 2:8-9 is his favorite verse, with Psalm 67:1-2 being a close second. Alex’s desire is for young adults to have a relationship with Christ and live a life that reflects “kingdom over everything”.