Our Pastor

Dr. Calvin W. Todd

Calvin Todd has served as pastor of our congregation since 1988.  A life - long Associate Reformed Presbyterian, Pastor Todd graduated from Erskine College in 1969, Reformed Theological Seminary in 1972, and received the Doctor of Ministry degree from Erskine Theological Seminary in 1985.  He has served as pastor of ARP churches in both Tennessee and South Carolina.

His desire and goal in ministry is to see God's people built up in the faith through the preaching and teaching of His Word so that they themselves can do works of service for God's glory and praise.  His passion is to proclaim the "unsearchable riches of Christ" through the expository preaching of God's Word.  Pastor Todd and his wife, Lisa, have two children and five grandchildren.

 

 

Church Secretary & Youth Director

Gail Fowler

Gail Fowler has served this congregation as Youth Director since May of 1999. Gail graduated from Phillips Junior College in May of 1990 with an Associates Degree in Travel and Tourism. She served as a youth volunteer for 5 years at the First Presbyterian Church, Pascagoula, Mississippi. In 1993 she became the Interim Youth Director and served in that capacity until moving to Fayetteville, Tn. in November of 1996. She worked for a travel agency in Huntsville, AL. for 2 years before receiving the call to Fayetteville ARP Church. In November of 2005 she took on additional duties as church secretary.

Gail's desire in ministry is to see each young person realize and accept their need for a personal Lord and Savior and encourage them to develop a growing and maturing relationship with Him through Bible studies and retreats. She also encourages them to share their faith with others through mission trips and in their daily lives.

 

 

Director Of Music Ministries

Joe Stephenson

Joe Stephenson has been the Director of Music Ministries at our church for the past ten years. He feels the purpose of music ministry in the church is to help each person gain a closer relationship with our Lord through the inspiration of beautiful music. Joe grew up in a music program. His grandfather was a singer and traveled all over the southeast singing for revival meetings. He also sang for thousands of weddings and funerals. Joe's father was the Director of Music Ministries at First Presbyterian Church, Fort Lauderdale, Florida for over 40 years and his mom was the organist there. Joe grew up in a full time music program. After graduation from Stetson University on a violin scholarship with a Bachelor of Arts degree, Joe attended Westminster Choir College in Princeton, NJ, where he studied with Joseph Flummerfeldt, one of the world's leading authorities in choral conducting. Joe was also a featured soloist in the Westminster Choir in concert and on recordings. After leaving Westminster, Joe lived for awhile in Southampton, New York, where he was the Director of Music Ministries at First Presbyterian Church. Joe has also served First United Methodist in Pulaski,Tn. and First Presbyterian Church in Huntsville, Al. before coming to our church. One of Joe's greatest joys in music is teaching youth and children to find their own voice and love of music. There is not one person, who with care and patience, cannot learn to sing to the Lord.

 

 

 

 

Church Organist

 

 

 

 Christopher-Joel Carter, IV

 

Christopher-Joel Carter IV, hails originally from the city of Albertville, Alabama. As a child, Christopher was exposed to the music of his area (Sand Mountain), and to the music that his parents played nonstop (everything from Southern Gospel to Funk). He is known for his mastery and easy adaptations of myriad genres of music, which he attributes to his musically broad childhood, and classical training.

At the age of four, Christopher began his piano training, yet it wasn't until he was fourteen years old did he receive truly formal training. Prior to classical training, Christopher was schooled in Southern Gospel, jazz, and Liberace styles. At fourteen, he auditioned with Dr. Margery McDuffie Whatley at the University of Alabama at Huntsville, and became her student for over nine years. During his high school years, Christopher was the principal accompanist for his high school's choral program. Since he "does not sing" - he was invited to be part of the chorus/s and would receive his final grade on dependence of his piano accompanying. This event is what "set the ball rolling" in his technique evolution and his deftness at sight-reading almost any score without fault - an "A" was always the grade. 

Christopher was nominated numerous times as the Alabama All-State Pianist, and landed him his first "real job" as an accompanist to the former Gerhart Children's Chamber Chorus in which he composed his "Sanctus" for children's chorus and string quartet. At college, he also became an organ performance major and has been also a professional organist for over nine years.

After studies began with Dr, Whatley in 1996, Christopher performed in master classes with Olga Kern (Van Cliburn Gold Medalist), Cameron Carpenter (Organ Virtuoso), Yakov Kasman (Van Cliburn Silver Medalist), Martin Katz, Frederica von Stade, as well as many others.

As a composer, Mr. Carter has had his music performed at the Bass Performance Hall in Fort Worth, Texas, and Carnegie Hall in New York, and the British Islands. Most recently he collaborated with a new high school production of "Cinderella" and composed the complete score. The score featured innovative techniques in the musical ensemble such as extended piano technique (playing music on the strings, and inside parts of the piano) and musical patterns based in color-timbre relations.

 

 

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