Pastors
Dr Josh Burnham - Senior Pastor
Dr. Josh serves as lead pastor and has guided Bethel since 2016. Josh (a MSU Bulldog) and Casey (a LSU Tiger) were married in 2006 and have two children, Eli and Erin.
Dr. Burnham has a passion for the Lord and the Sacred Scriptures, dedicating his life to studying God’s Word, completing a Ph.D. in Old Testament and Hebrew from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, and teaching in the local church for almost two decades.
Pastor Josh’s heart is to see people set free and lives transformed by the redeeming work of Jesus Christ through the local church, God’s plan A to change the world!
Jared Mitchell - Worship Pastor
Jared is from Birmingham, Alabama, where he grew up and lived most of his life until he moved to Jackson, Mississippi. While in Mississippi, Jared attended Mississippi College where he earned his undergraduate degree in Christian Studies and Psychology. He and his wife, Annaclaire, who is from Fayetteville, Arkansas, met in college. They were married in 2013 and have one daughter, Presley.
Aaron Meeks - Student Pastor
Aaron grew up in the St. Clair County area and attended college at Gadsden State Community College. Soon after graduating with his Associate degree, he moved to China for six months with the IMB as a student missionary. After returning to the States, he attended online at Boyce college for a semester of Bible courses before finishing a bachelor’s degree in child studies with a minor in Anthropology at UAB.
After graduation, Aaron felt the leading of the Lord to move to Haiti as a missionary to work in the children’s homes while also training the caregivers in Trauma Informed Care for almost two years.
Following his missionary service in Haiti, Aaron moved to Alabama and married Ashley, who grew up a missionary kid in Australia in 2019.
Currently, Aaron serves the Kingdom at an inner-city ministry in Birmingham. His role consists of working with teen boys, training leaders and workers in Trauma Informed Care, and coordinating volunteers within the non-profit.
Aaron and Ashley were foster parents to threw siblings last year and now have a baby
due in December. Above all, Aaron has a deep passion for helping equip and disciple younger generations in the Gospel and seeing them become committed to the Lord as they enter adulthood.
James Beachem - Lay/Congregational Pastor
Ken Roberts - Lay/Congregational Pastor
Tony Butler - Lay/Congregational Pastor
Tony and his wife Sherry have been members at Bethel since 2021. You can find them serving with Bethel’s kid’s ministry and teaching small groups from time to time. Through a summer camp, Tony gave his life to Jesus Christ. Even today, Tony’s heart for evangelism burns bright as he leads a camp for youth every summer.
Staff
Mary Beth Brown - Director of Preschool/Children
Eric Parsons - Director of Communications
Jessica Mayfield
Julie Vandenbergh - Office Manager
Richard Long - Maintenance Supervisor
Melody Etheridge - Office Assistant
Deacons
2023
Kim Carlisle
Kim, along with his wife Cindy, has been a dedicated member of Bethel for over three years. Kim and Cindy deeply desire to see young lives shaped by the Gospel, and you will find them serving with our infants every week as Life Group leaders.
David Hoyle
David and his wife, Frances, have been faithful covenant members at Bethel for over twenty years. You might remember that the Lord allowed David the great joy of baptizing his grandson Marshall last year. If you spend time with David, you will quickly notice he has a huge passion for helping people grow in faith through Life Groups and seeing the gospel impact lives in the Dominican Republic.
Brad Martin
Brad, along with his, Stephanie, and four children, have been dedicated members of Bethel for almost three years. Brad has a passion for evangelism, men’s ministry and currently serves weekly in our kid’s ministry.
Cary Martin
Cary and his wife Judy have been loyal covenant members at Bethel for over twenty years. If you spend time with Cary, you will see his heart for helping others through Backpack Buddies, cooking for men’s ministry, and building relationships through Life Groups.
Joe West
Joe, along with his wife Mary, has been faithful covenant members of Bethel for over fifteen years. If you know Joe, you realize he is a big kid at heart and has helped throughout the years in kid’s ministry and currently serves every week as an adult Life Group Leader.
2024
Andrew Bolin
Andrew and his wife Amia have been covenant members of Bethel since 2019 and have a young son named Watkins. The Bolins have served faithfully as connections team leaders, in the worship ministry, and are now vital teachers in Bethel’s kids ministry.
Austin Lail
Austin has been attending Bethel since birth. At Bethel, Austin gave his life to Jesus Christ, was discipled, and now serves faithfully. Austin glorifies Christ through the worship ministry and in the college and career life group. Above all, Austin has a deep and consistent love for the Word of Christ and the local church.
Randall Johnson
Randall and his wife Lynn have been members at Bethel since 2017. Lynn serves with Bethel’s kid’s ministry, and Randall helps teach life groups and a discipleship group. Randall has also served in key leadership roles at Bethel, including being a past chairman of deacons and the missions team.
2025
Greg Price
Greg and his wife Tiffany have been covenant members of Bethel since 1996. They have been married for 30 years and have two adult sons, Christian and Andrew. Greg confessed Christ as his Savior at age 18, and Tiffany at age 9. Greg was ordained as a deacon 20 years ago. The Prices have served Bethel in many different areas through the years, and their current passion is leading the young adult life group. They consider the church as family and believe the church is a vital part of every person’s growth and maturing in Christ.
Josh Clayton
Josh and his wife Alex have been covenant members of Bethel since 2020. They have faithfully served as connection team leaders and are actively involved in the baptism ministry. The Claytons serve out of an overflow of joy and hope they have in Christ Jesus.
David Butler
David and his wife Megan have been attending Bethel since the fall of 2019, and joined as covenant members in 2020. They have two children, Caleb (5) and Levi (3), with a third boy due this spring. David and Megan both serve in Bethel’s children’s ministry in various capacities, and David helps teach an adult life group. They have been involved together in children’s ministry for many years through summer camps, and have seen first-hand the importance of exposing children of all backgrounds to God’s grace.
Bradley Isbell
Bradley has been attending Bethel since early childhood with his family, where he gave his life to Christ, was discipled, and now serves. He has served in key leadership roles at Bethel, including the missions and finance teams. Bradley credits the Bethel family for helping him discern his calling to serve in both publishing and international missions, where he gets to help individuals be involved in and understand the mission of God. He looks forward to serving the Bethel faith family in whatever capacity is needed.