Duane joined the staff of LDBC in August 2022 as the Discipleship Pastor. He is a Georgia native who accepted Jesus Christ as his Savior and Lord when he was 10 years old. He completed the Master of Divinity as well as the Doctor of Ministry programs at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. Since 1998, Duane has served in various pastoral roles for churches located in Kentucky, Ohio, and Georgia. Included in his ministry experience is his service as co-founder and co-pastor of Disciple Church, a home-networked church. During his ministry with Disciple Church, Duane developed a love and appreciation for intentional discipleship – especially for one-on-one discipleship, which he believes is a missing element in many of our local churches. Duane has been married to his wife Jennifer for twenty-nine years, and they have two grown children, Jonathan and Anna. Duane and Jennifer are both motivated by their love for Jesus and their desire to see people become disciples who make disciples. In addition to serving the Lord, Duane enjoys spending time with his family, watching his kids use their God-given talents, tinkering with technology, and exercising.

I was born and raised in Athens, Ga, where I was fortunate to grow up surrounded by most of my family. I gave my life to Christ at the age of eight, but it wasn’t until I was in high school that I began to realize the call to ministry God had placed on my life. I have always had a passion for music and taught myself to play guitar in middle school, and I played the trumpet in band until I graduated high school. The Lord has given me a heart for students and worship, so I have spent much of my time leading worship for several student ministries around the Athens area. My wife, Stephanie, and I met at student camp when she was thirteen and I was fourteen. However, we did not date until she moved to Athens to attend UGA, which is when we reconnected. And as they say, the rest is history. In December of 2023 we welcomed our first child, Reynolds. It has been amazing experiencing the blessing of God through the gift of parenthood. My heart is that the songs we sing would echo the Gospel and reflect Biblical truths. My prayer is that we do not offer lip service to God through song but that the songs we sing usher us to respond to who God is and what he is doing in and around us.

Calida has been married to Cliff since October 2002 and they have been blessed with four beautiful children, Damien, Dillon, Daxson and Lilly. God graciously saved Calida in February 2002 and Cliff on their one year Wedding Anniversary in October of 2003. Calida and her family served in two other local churches before joining Lawrence Drive in 2017. While serving on the Personnel Committee at Lawrence Drive and prayerfully seeking God’s guidance alongside other committee members to fill the open positions of Youth and Outreach Leader, Calida recognized God was asking her to trust Him and speak to Pastor Phil about becoming part of the staff at Lawrence Drive and personally fulfilling the duties these two open positions required. Calida said “Yes' ' to God, met with Pastor Phil and began praying her life verses Matthew 7:7-8 over all of the details. “ Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and the one who knocks it will be opened.” Calida joined the Lawrence Drive staff in July 2024.

Lisa has served in various areas of church ministry since 1994. Rick and Lisa moved from Florida to Georgia in 2006 to serve on staff at Lawrence Drive. They have two adult sons and 3 grandsons and will celebrate 34 years of marriage this year in 2022. They both love taking their grandsons on fun adventures, hanging out with kids at Centrikid camp, and vacationing on Disney Cruises.

Joey has been a member of Lawrence Drive since 1997 and has served on staff since 2015. It was in 2000 that the Lord really got hold of Joey's heart and he began to use his many skills and abilities to serve Him. As Director of Community Ministries, Joey actively seeks opportunities for our church to serve in the community through Angels In Flight addiction recovery, Rescue Mission, Mid State Association, and many other outlets as the opportunity arises. Joey loves spending time with his three grown children and four awesome grandchildren.

Lisa and her family have been members of Lawrence Drive Baptist Church for over 30 years. She and her husband David have two adult children, Adam and Abby, and three beautiful granddaughters, Madi, Jaida, & Zoe. Lisa began teaching in 1999 and became Director of LDBC Preschool in 2001. She currently serves as a 4K teacher and director. Lisa loves being able to share the gospel and see the excitement on the children’s faces as they realize just what Jesus Christ has done for them, and how much He loves them!