Meet our Staff
|
Rev. Andrew J. Reynolds
Pastor contact Pastor A.J. at pastorajreynolds@gmail.com A native of Guilford County, A.J. was raised in Sharpe Road Baptist Church, where he accepted Jesus as his Savior, was part of the youth group, served as an usher, and sang in the choir until graduating from Southeast Guilford High School as its salutatorian in 2005. Enrolling at the University of North Carolina, he was active in two organizations: the band and the Baptist Student Union. As a Marching Tar Heel, A.J. further honed his musical skills and developed leadership strengths. Through the B.S.U., he assisted with leading prayer groups and bible studies. During summers, he went home and volunteered to lead his former youth group. As a sophomore, he began to be convinced of a call from God to Christian ministry. As a junior, it became clearer to A.J. that this call was one to life of vocational ministry. During this growth, A.J. received opportunities to teach and lead in B.S.U., and by The Summit Church in Durham. After graduating from Carolina in 2009, we hired him as the interim Youth Director. As he enrolled at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary that fall, we called him to serve permanently, in a part-time capacity as the Minister of Youth & Children. In March 2012, he was ordained as a pastor, and we called him to serve as our Minister of Education. In the spring of 2013, he received his Master of Divinity degree in Pastoral Ministry, and we called him to be our full-time Associate Pastor, overseeing administration and visitation. In October 2015, he gave up the portion of his ministry working with families to take on a different job: Minister of Music, leading in corporate worship. In April 2022, upon Jim Cohn's retirement, we called A.J. to serve as our senior Pastor. He represents our church in the Pilot Mountain Baptist Association's leadership network, and is passionate about church revitalization and relational evangelism. |
|
|
Maxwell A. Digman
Minister of Worship & Music contact Max at music@fbcwalnutcove.com Born and raised in Youngstown, Ohio, Max attended Malone University, where he was challenged in many ways as a musician and as a person. While on campus, he served in the Office of Spiritual Formation, where he prepared weekly "Community Worship" services and led multiple musical ensembles. While a student, he was also an intern at Canton Church of the Nazarene, helping to prepare the weekly worship services, setting up audio/video systems, and leading the band. Max graduated in May 2022 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music Ministry. In July 2022, Maxwell joined our staff, and in August he began attending the School of Divinity at Wake Forest University. He is more than a little excited to be serving the community of Walnut Cove and thoroughly looks forward to the growth that will be achieved in his time at First Baptist! |
|
Braydon P. Turpin
Minister of Students & Children contact Braydon at youth@fbcwalnutcove.com Braydon hails from Robbinsville, a small Appalachian town in the western part of North Carolina. He was raised attending Hosanna Baptist Church, which was planted, and is still shepherded, by his grandfather, Rev. Max Turpin. While a young man, he was an especially active part of Vacation Bible School, the Christmas cantata, and an annual Yuletide Fundraising Ministry. Youth centered events were important parts of the life of his home church. After he graduating from high school, he attended Wake Forest University. In May 2022, he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy, with minors in Creative Writing and Religious Studies. In August 2022, Braydon enrolled in both the School of Education and the School of Divinity at Campbell University, where he is pursuing a degree in Clinical & Mental Health Counseling. Since October, he has been serving as our Minister of Children & Students. He is excited to not only get to know the current students and children of our church, but also to work with the church family to facilitate outreach and the growth of our IMPACT and SONquest ministries! |
Jacqueline Miller
Office Manager contact Jackie at office@fbcwalnutcove.com Jackie was born and raised in Maryland. She and her husband moved to North Carolina two decades ago, and she had worked in patient intake for Wake Forest University's Baptist Medical Center prior to coming to work for First Baptist Church in October 2021. She is working to modernize our office processes, and has quickly become a vital part of our ability to function efficiently as a business. In addition to her passion for ministering to those with developmental disabilities, she has a small farm (including a honey bee hive) here in Stokes County! She and her husband have two sons, the youngest of which lives with them here in Walnut Cove. |
|
Lisa Roberts Ore
Financial Secretary contact Lisa at lisarore@gmail.com A native of Pine Hall, Lisa is a graduate of South Stokes High School and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from the University of North Carolina - Greensboro. She works as a Controller for the Westminster Company. She and her children, Luci and Ben, joined our church family in 2003. She has served many times on our Finance Committee, including several times as its Chair. In early 2016, she graciously agreed to join our team as the Finance Secretary, continuing the duties she had been doing as a volunteer for several months. In addition to keeping us squared-away on the business front, Lisa volunteers in our SONquest ministry and facilitates a ladies discipleship group. |
Leigh Richardson Taylor
Pianist Vivian Leigh Richardson was raised in the First Baptist Church family. A graduate of Walnut Cove High School, she attended Wingate University to study music. She has lived in several different places across North Carolina, but in the 1990s, God called her back home to Stokes County. In the early 2000s, we hired Leigh as our Pianist. A highly dedicated part of our music ministry, she gladly serves in a number of ways, most visibly by sharing her talent during corporate worship services. Also a small group facilitator, this grandmother of 6 is an integral part of our staff team here at F.B.C! |
|
Rev. James A. Cohn
Pastor Emeritus Pastor Jim was born and raised in Winston-Salem. He graduated from the Fork Union Military Academy in Virginia, and attended the University of North Carolina. During his career as a paramedic, he received his bachelor's degree from High Point University. In 1984, he was commissioned into the U.S. Army. While serving as a field artillery officer, Jim yielded to God's call to vocational ministry. He holds a Master of Arts degree from the Houston Graduate School of Theology, and a Master of Strategic Studies degree from the Army War College. He was co-vocational, working as both a soldier and a pastor - including serving as our pastor from 2006 to 2009 - until his retirement from the Army. In April 2011, we called him back to First Baptist Church after two years away. A visionary leader, he strongly believes in the prominence of our teaching ministries. This is exemplified in his enthusiastic preaching of God's Word and in his faithful discipleship of men. He retired as our pastor March 31, 2022, but continues to remain an active part of our church family. Because no one can ever retire from Kingdom ministry, he remains on the Board of Directors of the Luci Collins Foundation, the Board of Directors for East Stokes Outreach Ministry, and the Personnel Committee of our Pilot Mountain Baptist Association. Pastor Jim is married to Debbie; they have 3 children and 5 grandchildren. |