Serving Staff
The staff at Crane Eater Community Church is made up of people that want to serve God in everything they do. We believe we are serving God when we are actively doing what He desires for our lives. We desire to serve others in an active way. While we have organizational structure and hierarchy, everyone at Crane Eater is willing to serve within the church and out. Everyone is treated and respected as equals.
Howard A. Strickland
Senior Pastor
Pastor Howard and his wife Jenny Strickland were appointed to serve as Crane Eater Community Church's Senior Pastors in January 2006. Pastor Strickland has served in full-time ministry for over thirty years, and is actively involved in Calhoun and Gordon County, Georgia. His passion is to see lives changed and transformed through the miracle-working power of our Lord and Savior.
Paul Gay
Executive Pastor
Pastor Paul was appointed to serve as Crane Eater Community Church's Executive Pastor 1980. Pastor Paul has served the Lord and Crane Eater for over 45 years, in nearly every capacity. His passion has been to enlarge the Kingdom of God and the Body of Christ at Crane Eater.
Donna Gay
Worship Pastor
Pastor Donna is a third generation member of the Crane Eater congregation and is a gifted music minister. Pastor Donna actively seeks the guidance of the Holy Spirit throughout the week before any song selections are made for our worship services.
Chris Towe
Children's Pastor
Chris Towe has served at Crane Eater as Children's Pastor since 2016. He has been heavily involved in children's ministry since 1995. Chris is a South Carolina native and a graduate of Lee University where he majored in Christian Education with a Bible minor. In 2001, Chris married his college sweetheart, Amy. Together they have two daughters, Megan and Abby.
Barbara Garland
Church Administrator
Sister Barbara runs our church office. She is the go-to person for all things Crane Eater. She manages our church management software, Realm. In addition, Sister Barbara manages each member's financial giving reports, church membership information, and keeps up with all of the events that are scheduled on our campus.
Nina Payne
Family Pastor/Seminary Director
Sister Nina Payne has been a faithful member of Crane Eater since 2006. Outside of the church, Sister Nina works in the medical field. She recently earned her ordination with the Church of God. She has been the Christian Education Director at Crane Eater for many years. She is dedicated to ensuring that every Sunday School classroom has the appropriate curriculum, resources, and Godly men and women to serve as leaders. She is also the Dean of the North Georgia Theological Seminary that meets at the church weekly throughout the "school year."
Kim Purcell
Women's Ministry Director
Kim is a Gordon County native, and joined Crane Eater in 2020. In 2023, she became the Women's Ministry Director. The goal of the Women's Ministry is to encourage, support, and to build up women with the Word of God through Love, Prayer, Grace. Kim diligently plans monthly meetings, Bible studies, and organizes meals for church members when they have experienced a loss.
Hank Mauldin
Men's Ministry Director
Hank Mauldin has lived in Calhoun for most of his life. He has been a commercial truck driver for 24 years. Hank and his family joined Crane Eater in 2017. Hank is a hardworking and dedicated member of the church. He currently serves as a member of the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT). He is also the leader of the men's ministry (Iron Sharpens Iron) with a mission to reach out to men within and outside the church. Through prayer, worship, and support, the members of the men's ministry work on projects within the church, assist the elderly, and assist those needing help with manual labor.
Tricia Gaines
Early Learning Center Director
Tricia is married to Larry Gaines, and they have 2 daughters (Jill and Allison) who were both raised in Crane Eater Church. She has attended Crane Eater for most of her life. Her Uncle, Herman Timms, was one of the former Pastors of the church. She has worked with the children of Crane Eater since 1981. She has helped with Christmas plays, teaching Sunday School, working in "Little Folks Church", and now with our Early Learners and Nursery. She loves working with children, watching them grow, and learning from God's word.
Megan Stephens
Wayfinders Commander
Megan Stephens is a 4th generation member of Crane Eater, faithfully attending since birth. Megan has served as the Awana Commander since 2010 and is the current Director of our new Wednesday Children's program, Wayfinders. Wayfinders is a program for children in Pre-K through Fifth Grade. We strive to teach our children to Know Jesus, Love Him, and Serve Him. In addition to being the director of Wayfinders, she is a member of the Praise Team and volunteers with VBS. She is the daughter of Paul and Donna Gay, she has been married to Cory Stephens since 2007. Together, they have 2 adult sons (Jacob and Christian), 1 daughter-in-love (Jordan). They also have two younger children (Jesslyn and Jeryn). Throughout her life, Megan has been involved in all aspects of Children's ministry - Clown ministry in Children's church, nursery worker, and VBS.
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Jimmy W. Holbert
High School Youth Leader
Jimmy Holbert has been a long-standing, faithful member of Crane Eater Community Church. He currently serves as the High School Youth Leader. He is a teacher and coach at Red Bud Middle School. He has a heart for young people and wants to see all students develop an understanding of how much worth they have inherited through Jesus Christ.
Thomas & Tina Bright
Middle School Youth Leaders
Thomas and Tina have been married for 23 years. They have three adult sons and a daughter who attends Calhoun High School. Thomas and Tina were named the Middle School Leaders in 2021. As leaders, they try to keep God the focus of everything they do - including trips and community service projects. They plan a variety of fundraising activities, regular fellowship outings, and extended youth trips.
Mark & Angela Irwin
College & Career Pastors
Mark and Angela Irwin began teaching the Crane Eater College and Career class in 2018. Collectively, they came up with the class name, “Mirror Image,” as they seek to reflect the image of Christ in everyday life. Mark and Angela are blessed to have the opportunity to work with young people at a pivotal point in their lives - transitioning from youth to adulthood.
Mark and Angela have been involved in church ministry for many years spanning most of their lives. Mark has a Masters of Divinity degree from Pensacola Christian Theological Seminary and Angela holds a Masters degree from Lincoln Memorial University and a Bachelor's degree from Lee University. She currently teaches kindergarten at Calhoun Early Learning Academy and Mark is the owner/agent of Calhoun’s local Farmers Insurance Agency. Mark and Angela would love the opportunity to get to know you better and to have you join their Sunday School class that meets weekly at 10am. They also have many planned social events throughout the year including adventures and Bible studies.
Mandy & Donny Robertson
Marriage Ministry Directors
JC & Kim Coots
Missions Directors
JC and Kim have been involved in missions work since 2001. Their main focus has been Kenya and villages in Africa, but they have recently included Guatemala as a passion.
Kelly Messer
Benevolence Director
Sister Kelly Messer has a bachelor's degree from North Georgia Theological Seminary. She also has an Associate of Arts in Psychology from Dalton State College, and is currently working on her Masters in Theology with North Georgia Theological Seminary. Sister Kelly began her Masters in 2017 and completed her internship with the benevolence director at that time. She has been dedicated to this service and in September 2022, she was named the Benevolence Director for Crane Eater. She has played on the church praise team since she joined Crane Eater in 1983. She has taught Sunday School classes (Middle School and 1st - 3rd grade) since 2017. She is always willing to help out wherever she is needed.
Sarah Carver
A New Day Director
Sarah is the director of New Day, an outreach program to help people with all types of addictions or codependency issues. Sarah works diligently to ensure individuals have a safe sharing environment. New Day uses a 12-step Biblically based program that focuses on the positive, future, and forgiveness of sin - incorporating the mind, body, and soul.
James and Judi Binnicker
Guest Services Directors
James and Judi Binnicker currently serve as the Guest Services Directors. They have been members of Crane Eater since 2016 and began serving in guest services in September 2019. They have shared in the opportunity to welcome and greet over 300 families visiting the church for the first time. They work with many volunteers who dedicate their time and energy to make a first impression of excellence to everyone visiting Crane Eater Community Church. They are supported by the volunteers who demonstrate caring for others and who serve to create a welcoming environment for all guests and members.
James and Judi met in church over 36 years ago and have been married for 34 years. They have three daughters and three grandchildren. They bring years of experience to Crane Eater, in an effort to support Crane Eater in being a church of LOVE, PRAYER, and GRACE.
Carrie Rigdon
Communications Director
Carrie is over all web based communications at Crane Eater. Members are encouraged to email her directly if there are questions and if there are things that are needed on our Website, Facebook, or YouTube channels.
Debbie Poarch
Church Librarian
Debbie Poarch is a longtime member of Crane Eater Community Church. She has been a member of the church praise team and currently serves as the librarian in our church library. She has a Bachelor’s degree and is currently working to earn a Master’s degree of Theology through International College of Bible Theology. She is a mother of three and the grandmother of five and has been happily married to Sam Poarch.