Leadership

I became a follower of Jesus the Christ in the fall of 1972 and am now being
transformed by the Holy Spirit. I have been serving His Church at Grace since 2013.

Stephen was born again through the ministry of Campus Outreach at Georgia Southern University in 1993.  In 1998, he left his career working in the Atlanta home building industry to attend Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, where he earned a Master of Divinity.  After serving in an internship with the OPC in Roseburg, Oregon, Stephen and his wife, Jennifer,  returned to the Atlanta area and back to working in the building industry.   He was ordained as a Ruling Elder in 2006 in Douglasville, Georgia, and moved to Canton in 2018.  He has served as a ruling elder for the last three years.

Dan Boulton was raised in a Christian home and was born again by the work of God as a university student.  He is a graduate of Miami University and Grace Theological Seminary.  Dan served as a pastor for 12 years at two churches.  For 33 years he ministered as a Christian Education Consultant with David C. Cook Publishing and Great Commission Publications.  
Dan was also an elder at several other churches while he was a Christian Education Consultant.  On numerous occasions, he has helped train pastors in Ukraine, Romania, Azerbaijan, Serbia, and Liberia.  Dan is now retired from full-time ministry.
He is married and has two children as well as six grandchildren.

I have been a Christian since 18 years of age; my good friend from the neighborhood invited me to church over and over, and one Sunday night, I went, and God saved me. Walking with God is a journey, and I continue daily by His Grace. After salvation, I sensed the call to the helping ministry and ultimately became a Christian counselor and a serving saint in the church. 
I obtained my BS in psychology from Liberty, my MS in Counseling from Georgia State University, and a Diploma in Christian Counseling from the Psychological Studies Institute. I have served in the church as a Sunday school teacher for youth and adults and helped with children's ministries, youth leadership, pulpit committees, youth retreats, and as a Ruling Elder. I have also dabbled in assisting the church in advancing the use of technology.
I have been a Christian counselor for 24 years and have seen people grow in their faith and heal from many ailments. I currently serve at Restoration Counseling of Atlanta as a counselor and Assistant Clinical director. On the side, I also teach at several Christian universities in their undergraduate programs as adjunct faculty in the psychology and counseling departments. 
Better than all my work is my family. I have a wonderful bride, Beth, of 25+ years and 3 faithful children, Calvin (22), Zachary (20), and Emily (13). I attempt to love, lead, and serve them daily, by God's grace, because if left to me, I would fail. 
My hobbies include home improvement, spending time with friends, watching my Mets, and anything with my family.

Favorites:
Verse: Luke 1:37
Color: Green
Sports Team: New York Mets, Let's Go Mets!
Book of the Bible: James

Mike was raised in a military family. He came to faith in Christ as a boy through the ministry of a Southern Baptist missionary in Toul, France.  Mike attended Southeastern Bible College and Dallas Bible College, completing two and a half years of studying Theology. He was licensed to preach in 1976 in a Southern Baptist church. Mike married Faith in 1978, and they have two daughters and two grandsons. He is a graduate of Texas A&M, with a degree in Industrial Engineering. Mike is now retired from a career in management, quality control, and consulting.  Mike has served the church faithfully as a bi-vocational pastor, and by preaching, teaching Sunday School, and leading small groups. He currently serves Grace Church by teaching Sunday School and leading the Sunday services at Wickshire Assisted Living.

Brady was born in Northern California and was brought up in the Lutheran Church (Missouri Synod). He moved to Southern California in 1994 where he attended school for video and film production. In 2003, Brady met his future wife and shortly after their wedding, he was converted to Christ.
In 2008, through much prayer, Brady moved his family to Georgia and joined Grace Presbyterian Church, Douglasville. He and his family served in Grace's ministry for 12 years. In 2020, the Paynes moved to Woodstock, GA and joined Grace Church, Canton.
For the past 16 years, Brady has worked as a video editor and motion graphics designer for a local Christian television ministry which spreads the gospel to over 200 countries worldwide.
Brady enjoys studying theology, history, philosophy, the visual arts, and teaching others.

Justin comes from a nominal Christian background but believes the Lord graciously and soundly saved him after wroughting godly sorrow leading to repentance and faith in Christ Jesus in 2009. He has a BS degree in biochemistry from NC State University and attended The Master’s Seminary for a couple semesters. As a senior consultant, Justin has been supporting the Department of Homeland Security’s BioWatch program for the last six years.
Shortly following conversion, he discovered and quickly embraced the doctrines of grace, which led to a zeal for evangelism and apologetics. Justin has had opportunities to serve in different ministry capacities over the years, including street evangelism and open-air preaching, teaching, frontline abortion ministry, and church safety and security. He loves writing and thinking through worldview issues, as well as theology and growing in the knowledge of God’s love and grace, serving God’s people in the local church, and reaching our community for the furtherance of Christ’s kingdom.
Justin and his wife, Jennifer, along with their children Novella, Jonah, and Canaan, praise God for bringing them into the Grace Church family.  

Travis Hanenburg grew up on a dairy farm in Minnesota, where he learned the value of hard work. He grew up in the Christian Reformed Church (Dutch Reformed), where he was baptized as a baby, attended church from an early age, and joined the church as a teenager by profession of faith.
He married his high school sweetheart, Amy, in 1994.
After they graduated from Dordt University in 1995, they taught in Christian schools in Louisiana for two years, then Texas for a year, and moved to Georgia in 1998. They were blessed with Biblical mentorship at all the churches they attended, and they grew to embrace the faith of their childhood. Travis has taught at Cherokee Christian Schools for the past 28 years, teaching Bible and history, coaching, and filling in many different subjects.
Travis and Amy have four grown children. Alexis and her husband live in Auburn, Seth is at the US Air Force Academy in Colorado, Danielle and her husband Collin attend Grace, and Mackenzie works at Cherokee Christian with her parents.
Travis served as a deacon at Cherokee Presbyterian Church from 2002 until 2021, when they moved over to Grace. He enjoys working in his garden, knife-making, carpentry, reading history, and playing a variety of sports.

Born in Montgomery, AL, and raised in Southern California, J.T. (John Thomas) came to faith as a teenager while attending a non-denominational evangelical church in the South Bay. He enlisted in the USMC at 17 and served in the USMC and USMCR until 1998.
J.T. and Jessica met in the 4th grade and married in 2005.  They were blessed with their daughter Grace in 2010. JT served as a deacon at Christ Reformed Church in Anaheim, CA from 2009 – 2011, prior to transferring membership to Branch of Hope OPC in Torrance, CA. J.T. and his family moved from Southern CA to Cumming, GA in 2019 and joined Grace Church as communicate members in November 2019.
J.T. has a Bachelor of Science in Human Resources Management from CSULA and a Master of Arts in Management in Organization Design from Azusa Pacific University. J.T. currently works as a Human Resources Director for a multinational packaging company in the Atlanta area.

Favorites:
Verse: Psalm 119: 10-11
Book of the Bible: Proverbs
Hobby: Motorcycle Riding

Lutfi came to faith when he was a teenager in a Presbyterian Church in his native Puerto Rico.  He has served in the church in different capacities since that time.  Lutfi married Liliana in 1998, and they have been blessed with six children (Sarah, Sofia, Joel, David, Lily, and Anna).  Lutfi has a degree in Industrial Engineering and currently works as a Project Manager for General Electric’s Stream Power Generation Division.  Lutfi has served the church in various capacities since his conversion. Prior to joining Grace Church, Lutfi and his family were members at a Hispanic Church in Snellville, Georgia, and most recently they attended a House Church in the Lawrenceville-Lilburn area.

Ryan Waddell was born and raised in Cherokee County. Wendy and I have been married 28 years. We have four adult children. One of my favorite verses in the Bible is Nahum 1:7 “The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; he knows those who take refuge in him.”