Bob Gerndt Elder
Bob and his wife Maxine have been attending Fellowship Bible Church since they moved into the area in 1980. Bob retired from Kimberly-Clark in 2006 after 37 years of service as a Technical Leader. They have three married daughters and eight grandchildren living in the area.
Jeff Osborn Elder
Jeff and his wife Courtney have been attending FBC since 2001 when they relocated to Atlanta from Birmingham, AL. "From the moment we stepped into the worship service one Spring Sunday morning, we knew we were home", recalls Jeff. Since that time, Jeff and Courtney have served in the Young Married leadership team, the Worship and Arts ministry team, Learning Center, Community Group leadership, Women's ministry, His Kids ministry, and leadership of outreach events such as Snow Day and the Roswell Convoy of Hope.
Jeff has spent most of his professional career serving in leadership roles within telecommunications / business services / emerging technology industries. His heartbeat is to promote Christ-like servant leadership in the marketplace, in the community, in the church, and at home. He has a BS in Business Administration from Auburn University and an MBA from the University of Alabama. (Yes, you did read that correctly.) After finishing his undergraduate work at Auburn, Jeff served briefly as Commander of a submarine, The Nautilus, leading his crew "20,000 Leagues under the sea". (In Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom, that is.)
"After we moved to Atlanta and found our church home, we then found a house which we now call home just down the street from the church in Roswell. Courtney is not only the Chief Operating Officer of our home, she is also a wonderful Mommy to our daughters, Tori and Tiffany, she is my princess and my best friend", Jeff says. Together as a family of four, they enjoy camping, playing golf, and looking for ways to transform the routines of life into thematic fun!
Tim Beard Elder ⁄ Pastor of Worship & Arts
As the Worship and Arts Pastor, Tim oversees planning and production of all Sunday morning worship services. After receiving a degree in music composition from the University of North Texas, he began a Masters in Computer Science and worked in software development for 14 years before joining the staff at Fellowship in 1998. Tim's wife Cindy is the principal violist for the DeKalb Symphony and teaches private violin and viola lessons. Tim and Cindy have two children, both in college.
Tim's primary goal as the Worship and Arts Pastor is to create environments where people can connect with God. He accomplishes this goal by pastoring a volunteer team of gifted artists who offer their God-given abilities to help people come to know and experience their Savior.
Joe Rice Executive Pastor
As the Executive Pastor, Joe is responsible to lead the staff of FBC to execute upon the vision and strategic objectives set by the Guiding Elder Board. As a member of the Elder Board he works with Crawford to develop the goals and objectives for ministry at FBC in order to present, "Everyone as growing to maturity in Christ".
For the past 15 years Joe has been a dedicated servant leader with the passion and calling to provide leadership for churches and not-for-profit organizations by developing and implementing strategies for improvement. Experienced in team leadership and building alignment of people and results linked to organizational mission and vision. Joe's passion is to empower, inspire and shepherd staff to be all they can be for Christ.
On a personal note, Joe has had a colorful and unique childhood as a child born into a Navy household on October 14, 1964. He was blessed to live all over the world and have unique childhood experiences such as raising a baby kangaroo, planting rice in a paddy and being scolded by a Buddhist Monk.
Joe came to a saving knowledge of Christ during a 'revival' meeting where Gordon Baylis was preaching from Jonah in the fall of 1992. "Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs" (Jonah 2:8) is the verse that the Lord used and has forever changed his life.
Joe shares his life and ministry with his beautiful wife and best friend Barb, of 13 years. Her passion to see women have "Intimacy with Jesus" has impacted hundreds of women to become disciples of Christ. They have five wonderful children: Sydney (11), Isaac (9), Selah (6), Quincy (5) and Sophia (3 ½). Their home is filled with laughter and adventures as they home school their kids.
Shane Freeman Elder ⁄ Adult Ministries Pastor
Shane serves as the pastor for Adult Ministries, providing the '30,000 foot' vision and direction for the adult ministry. He enjoys dreaming about what could be for Fellowship's mission to mature people in Christ, believing that ministry is always more effective when a group of people bring their various gifts to the table and work as a team in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Most recently, he served as the Directional Leader / Teaching Pastor of Fellowship Bible Church in Searcy, AR and has served in churches as a Youth Pastor, College Pastor, as well as teaching Bible and Theology at Rincon Valley Christian School in Santa Rosa, CA for a couple of years. Shane enjoys time with his 'girls', wife Amber and two very young daughters, as well as reading, and watching and playing various sports.
Mark Rutledge Elder
Mark and Michelle have called FBC their church home since 1996. They have been involved with many ministries and have enjoyed being in and leading small groups for the past 22 years. Both currently serve as Stephen Ministers. They have three daughters - Candace, Mallory and Natalie and reside in Woodstock. Their desire is to not be "check the box" Christians and "do church" but rather minister to and help people here and throughout the world through Christian service and leadership.
Mark graduated from the University of Akron with degrees in Industrial Management and Computer Programming. He is currently the Director of Valuation Services at Smith & Howard, an accounting, financial services and wealth management firm in Atlanta. Michelle is the Athletics Director for Crown Athletics, an athletics organization dedicated to home schooled students. She also coaches the swim team.
Mark is involved in international business-based mission trips, using business skills and opportunities to open doors for ministry in countries that are closed to traditional mission work and also helps Christians start micro businesses that help them support themselves and local churches. Destinations have included Mongolia and India. Mark also enjoys serving with the North Georgia Tres Dias community and has recently been involved in starting a community in Montego Bay, Jamaica.
All are avid Ohio State football fans following the Buckeyes throughout the season, except for the Michigan game which Mark must watch by himself.
