HOPE COMMUNITY - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Elder
- South End Site Pastor
Aaron grew up in the mountains of Western North Carolina in a small town called Weaverville. There, he spent most of his time playing sports and hanging out with family and friends. During Aaron's high school days, he began attending Young Life where he heard the good news of the gospel in a fresh, personal way. Through this ministry, God showed Aaron his desperate need of grace and his deep love for sinners like him.
In 2008, he left home to attend Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, NC. At Wake, Aaron walked on to the Demon Deacons basketball team and subsequently spent much of his time there in the gym. He also became heavily involved in Wake's campus ministry Reformed University Fellowship (RUF).
Through RUF, Aaron experienced Gospel community for the first time and also met his wife and best friend, Sarah. The two got married in the spring of 2013 and began living in Winston-Salem.
While living in Winston, Aaron worked for several years in the business world before sensing the Lord's leading for him to attend seminary. In July 2014, Aaron and Sarah moved to Charlotte for Aaron to begin his studies at RTS Charlotte. Shortly after, they began attending Hope.
After graduating from RTS with his MDiv in May 2017, Aaron was called to be an assistant pastor of men's ministry and visitor integration at Hope. After serving the church in various roles, Aaron transitioned to the role of lead site pastor at Hope's South End congregation in the spring of 2023. He loves helping people experience and grow in the full life Jesus came to give them, and he can't believe he gets to do this for a living!
Aaron and Sarah have three children: May (2019), Banks (2021), and Sophia (2023).
Aaron has been influenced greatly by the pastors at Hope, Young Life, Wake Forest RUF, Tim Keller, John Piper, Eugene Peterson, Chuck DeGroat, Sinclair Ferguson, John Calvin, and many others.
In his free time, Aaron spends most of his time hanging out with his family and friends, playing basketball, doing CrossFit, reading, and listening to good podcasts and music.
Alex grew up in Buffalo, NY and attended Grove City College where he met his wife, Mara, whom he married in 2011. After living in Denver, CO for three years they moved to Charlotte where he received his MBA from Wake Forest University. Alex and Mara have been attending Hope since 2013 and have four children. He is currently working for Coca Cola Bottling Consolidated. In his free time, Alex enjoys the outdoors, reading, working around the yard and is a diehard Buffalo Bills and Sabres fan.
Job Titles:
- Development Director South End Women 's Ministry Coordinator
- Lay Ministry Development Director, South End Women 's Ministry Coordinator
Alex was born and raised in Durham, North Carolina. During high school, by God's grace, a Young Life leader showed up in Alex's life that became a great friend and mentor. Although she grew up going to church, Alex's heart was finally opened to the gospel the summer after her sophomore year of high school at Frontier Ranch in Colorado. After high school, Alex attended Appalachian State in Boone, NC where she began to love the idea of ministry.
After college, Alex went on staff with Young Life in the small town of Mount Airy, North Carolina (Mayberry) for five years before moving to Charlotte in 2014 to finish seminary. In 2016, Alex graduated from Gordon-Conwell with her Masters in Christian Ministries and joined the staff at Hope part time. In the fall of 2017 Alex took on another part time role with Young Life in South Charlotte helping to care for and develop volunteer leaders as well as leading at Myers Park high school.
Alex enjoys life most when she's getting quality time with her friends, but other hobbies for her include going to the movies, binge watching TV shows on Netflix, trying new restaurants, enjoying live music, and traveling. She likes to watch almost all sports, but UNC basketball is her true allegiance.
God has shaped Alex most through the ministry of Young Life, his gentleness and compassion during significant experiences of loss and grief, the counsel and wisdom from the Barnabas Center, the teaching of pastors like Tim Keller and John Piper, and through deep friendships with people who have walked through many different seasons of life with her.
Job Titles:
- Pastor of Youth & Family Ministries
Andrew grew up in Chapin, South Carolina, where he came to know Jesus through his youth group. After high school, he attended Brevard College where he became a volunteer leader with Young Life and worked many summers at Wilderness Ranch as a backpacking guide.
After college, he completed a yearlong internship at Young Life's Frontier Ranch, where he met his wife, Emma (who first tried to set him up with her twin sister). They survived long distance dating and married in 2013. Previous years spent with Young Life camping lead them to the snowy tundra of Northern Michigan where he was on camp staff for five years.
God was at work stirring him to go to seminary for many years, and they moved back to the South in 2016 to begin at RTS Charlotte. Andrew will continue to work on his M.Div degree while in this role. He has loved his time at Hope, and is excited to be apart of the Hope Staff.
He's been shaped by Tim Keller, Rankin Wilbourne, Ed Welch, Young Life, and different mentors throughout the seasons of life. He enjoys running, camping, wishing he was in the mountains more, riding bikes with Emma, playing games over beers with friends and reading books of all genres.
Job Titles:
- Children 's Ministry Director
Anne was born and raised in Thomasville, Georgia and attended Vanderbilt University where she majored in Elementary Education and Child Psychology. In May of 1998, she moved to Charlotte to teach with CMS. Anne met Jason in Charlotte, and they were married in 2000. They have twin girls, Jane Lowry and Lilly, who were born in 2003 and a son, Wade, who was born in 2005. Anne joined the staff at Hope in September of 2010 as the Children's Ministry Coordinator. Anne says, "It has been an incredible gift to be on staff with men and women who care for one another and the church with intentionality and love. And let's be honest… we joke around and laugh a lot!"
When she is not working on Children's Ministry, Anne enjoys reading, working out at Iron Tribe, and sitting on a patio somewhere enjoying friends, yummy food, and a glass of wine! She loves spending time with her sweet family… playing games, hiking, going on trips, and watching college sports!
Ben and Micah Hester have been married for 12 years and their son Christopher is 18yrs old, and daughters Heidi and Mollie are 10 and 8yrs old. Ben studied voice at the University of South Florida and has been leading worship in different capacities for over 20 years. Favorite family activities include hiking, movies, live music, board games. Favorite family foods: BBQ, Indian, and Chik-fil-A. Ben and Micah love a good cup of coffee and a well made craft beer.
Job Titles:
- Elder
- South End Ruling Elder
Brad grew up in Arkansas and Oklahoma and graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 2000. After college, he lived and worked in Cincinnati, OH until moving to Charlotte in 2007 to work for Duke Energy. He and his wife, Emily, met through a mutual friend at Hope in 2016 and were married in 2018. They are involved in Hope's Breakfast of Angels ministry and Brad coaches youth baseball in Charlotte's Cotswold community as his favorite hobby.
Breck was born and raised in Memphis and attended college at Furman University in Greenville, SC. He became a believer in his mid-twenties while living in Greenville and hanging around some godly men and seeing that they had something that he didn't: a personal relationship with the true and living God.
A sales manager by trade, he made his best sale ever when he got Cindi Spearman to say "yes" 29 years ago. In 1989 he went to work for The Clorox Company and in 1991 he and Cindi moved from Greenville to Charlotte, which has been their home ever since. Breck and Cindi have two grown children, Breck Jr (27) and Blair (23), who is a member of Hope. By God's grace he is a two-time cancer survivor who loves to exercise, play golf, and grill out with family and friends (no gas…charcoal only!).
Job Titles:
- Cotswold Worship Coordinator
Believe it or not, Emma has been in Charlotte, NC her whole life - she's one of the few natives. She really loves Charlotte and the home it's become to her. In 1994, her parents moved to Charlotte to help plant a church, which her grandfather was the pastor of. Family is very important to her - she comes from a family of three girls and really enjoys spending time with them. In 2020, she graduated from Queens University of Charlotte, where she double-majored in Music and English-Lit. Music is one of her favorite things, and it was at Queens that Emma used music to serve and lead worship in the campus ministry, RUF, as the music team leader. Besides music, Emma loves being around people, reading, hiking & kayaking (the outdoors in general), traveling, and exploring new spots in Charlotte. She's also a big fan of the Florida Gators, coffee, and beer.
Job Titles:
- Cotswold Children 's Ministry Coordinator
Emma was raised in Collierville, Tennessee, and attended The University of Tennessee Knoxville majoring in Child & Family Studies. The ministry of RUF at UTK shaped how she came to know the freedom the gospel gives. While in college, she met her husband, Andrew "AK" King, at Young Life's Frontier Ranch in CO. They dated long distance for three years and married in 2013. In 2016, they moved to Charlotte for AK to pursue his Masters of Divinity at Reformed Theological Seminary. While in seminary, God graciously opened the door for AK to come on staff at Hope in 2018.
Emma and AK have two boys, Benton (August 2019) & Butler (May 2022). The boys keep their parents busy, tired, and usually laughing. Emma loves to cook for family/friends, to be at the beach any time of year, and to go on walks with her boys!
Being mentored by older women has had a profound impact on her-a continual growth of a kingdom-minded lens on life. Other influences on her faith have been RUF, Paul Tripp, Brent Harriman, attending Hope, and counseling from The Barnabus Center. God has shaped Emma most through relationships, marriage and parenting.
Eric was born and raised in the great state of Ohio. He married his high school sweetheart, Kim, and they have three children- Ryan (15), Jacob (14) and Katelyn (10). Eric moved to Charlotte in 2011 to help lead Project 658, a local non-profit that serves primarily refugees and immigrants on the east side of the city. Eric loves music and has been leading worship in some capacity ever since learning how to play guitar while in college at Ohio State University.
His favorite things include- cheering on the Buckeyes, listening to Needtobreathe or Ben Rector, riding his bike all over, and all things chocolate
Job Titles:
- Deacon
- Cotswold Deacon ( Sabbatical )
Job Titles:
- Elder
- Assistant Pastor of Church Planting
- Cotswold Site Pastor
Gorden, a native Mississippian, graduated from The University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) in 1999. After serving with Cru for two years at Auburn University, Gorden moved to Charlotte, NC, to obtain his Masters of Divinity from Reformed Theological Seminary. While in Charlotte, he was on the original plant team at Hope, and served as its first pastoral intern. During that time, Gorden met Kelly Kallam, and they married in 2003. Upon graduation, Gorden served as a pastor in Atlanta, as well as a Church Planting Apprentice at Hope, before God moved him into business, where he worked for 9 years.
In late 2012, as Gorden and Kelly were confronted with the reality of the brokenness and pain of living in a sin stained world, and in seeing that the Gospel of Grace is the only answer to this brokenness, they began to ask if God was calling Gorden back into vocational ministry. Through three years of prayer and counsel, it became obvious to them that He was, and in October of 2015, God led the Flemings to Raleigh, where Gorden served as the Associate Pastor at Midtown Community Church. In January 2019, Hope called the Flemings back to Kelly's hometown of Charlotte to lead the Cotswold congregation, which launched in January 2020.
Gorden has been greatly influenced by the pastors and leadership at Hope, as well as Tim Keller, Jack Miller, Paul David Tripp, Brennan Manning, Eugene Peterson, as well as his father and father-in-law, and orphans in Uganda. Gorden and Kelly have four kids: Ware (2005), Caroline Gray (2007), Hunt (2011) and Bess (2013). When he rarely has free-time he enjoys injuring himself at Iron Tribe and having his heart broken by Ole Miss.
Job Titles:
- Elder
- Cotswold Ruling Elder
Job Titles:
- Elder
- Cotswold Ruling Elder
Job Titles:
- Youth & Family Ministries Coordinator
Job Titles:
- Elder
- OP Ruling Elder ( Sabbatical )
Job Titles:
- Coordinator
- South End Worship Coordinator, Volunteer Scheduling Coordinator
Kate was born and raised in Charlotte, and moved to Virginia in fall of 2014 for college and work. Kate attended Liberty University where she obtained her B.A. in Business: Project Management, and her M.A. in Executive Leadership. Having a deep passion for both music ministry & artistry in the church and for small business & organizational management, Kate has been on a fun journey of watching the Lord unfold His plan for her life, using both of those passions in unique ways. Hope Community has been a big part of that journey.
After undergrad and during grad school, Kate spent a few years working in Residence Life at Liberty, serving students walking through crises, discouragements, and pretty much everything else in between. Kate will tell you that her time working in Residence Life were some of the most formative, humbling, and sanctifying years of her life, and served as a catalyst for growth in her walk with the Lord. All the while, the Lord in His graciousness continued to provide opportunities within Kate's role to use her passion for worship to build up teams and lead worship in a lot of unique settings.
Kate finished her masters in spring of 2019, and she decided moved back to Charlotte a year later in 2020 to work with her dad in their family-owned business. Hope Community was the very first church Kate visited upon moving back to Charlotte; one visit was all it took for Kate to know that Hope was the church community she felt called to join. The humility of the pastoral team and the genuine, authentic worship of the congregation made Kate feel right at home. After attending for a few months, Kate started serving as a vocalist on the worship team at SE. In an unexpected turn of events, The Lord was exceedingly gracious in providing the opportunity for Kate to step into the Worship Coordinator role at SE at the tail end of 2021. It has been a literal dream come true for Kate to be able to apply her passion for music and creativity, as well as team development, to the worship ministry at SE, and in the local church that has become her family.
Some of Kate's favorite artists include: CityAlight, the Gettys, Andrew Peterson, Sandra McCraken, Shane & Shane, Jess Ray, Housefires, Sovereign Grace, Ben Rector, and Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors.
Kate's passions (other than music) include: conversations about the Lord over a good cup of coffee, CrossFit, perfecting her scone recipe (it needs help), well-timed Office quotes, volleyball, game nights, outdoor adventures with friends, and, of course, organizing her email inbox.
Job Titles:
- OP Children 's Ministry Coordinator
Kiley grew up in Sweet Home Alabama, where she came to know Jesus at an early age - an answer to the prayer her parents prayed over her each night. She attended the University of Alabama, where she came to understand defensive schemes and the gospel of grace, as taught to her through the college ministry RUF.
After graduation, Kiley joined the 2009 Teach for America corps and was placed in Charlotte - a city she'd never visited before she moved. "Hope Community Church" was the first search result that popped up when she googled "PCA churches near me," and she has been attending there ever since! Kiley has been married to Lee since 2013, and they have three sons: Maddox (2015), James (2017), and a long-awaited answer to prayer, John Michael (2022).
Some of Kiley‘s favorite things include hunting for shark's teeth on the beach with her boys, mixing a craft cocktail to share with a friend, reading a good book in the sunshine, being creative in the kitchen, hosting people in her home, and sharing her heart through the written word. The rich community, sound teaching, and loving leadership she has experienced at Hope is one of God's biggest gifts to her, and she's humbled and excited to serve the church she's grown to love so much over the past 14 years.
Job Titles:
- Cotswold Women 's Ministry Coordinator
Laura was born and raised in Knoxville, TN where she grew up loving the Smokey Mountains and Tennessee football. She came to knew Jesus at a young age through her church and Kanankuk Camps. She attended the University of Tennessee, graduating with a degree in Psychology and a Master's in Elementary Education. After teaching for a year, Laura felt that the Lord was calling her into full time ministry with Young Life, a ministry that truly made the Gospel come to life for her. In 2009, she accepted a job with Young Life in Charlotte where she led at Charlotte Christian, served as the area administrator, and facilitated female leader care.
Laura and Colby were set up on a blind date in 2010 and they were married in 2012. They have 3 boys - Hudson (5), Coleman (4), and Blane (18 months).
Laura has attended Hope Community Church for the last 11 years. At Hope, Laura has experienced rich Gospel Community and, through her brokenness, Laura has seen the redeeming power of the Cross. She feels honored and humbled to play a small roll in the Kingdom work God is doing at Hope - specifically with the women of Hope
A perfect Saturday morning for Laura would include a long run, cup of iced espresso, and wandering the local famers' market. She loves family time and holidays at the beach, creating in her kitchen, hosting people in her home, exploring new restaurants with Colby, sipping wine on her back porch with friends, and chasing her wild boys…everywhere!
Job Titles:
- Development Director South End Women 's Ministry Coordinator
Alex was born and raised in Durham, North Carolina. During high school, by God's grace, a Young Life leader showed up in Alex's life that became a great friend and mentor. Although she grew up going to church, Alex's heart was finally opened to the gospel the summer after her sophomore year of high school at Frontier Ranch in Colorado. After high school, Alex attended Appalachian State in Boone, NC where she began to love the idea of ministry.
After college, Alex went on staff with Young Life in the small town of Mount Airy, North Carolina (Mayberry) for five years before moving to Charlotte in 2014 to finish seminary. In 2016, Alex graduated from Gordon-Conwell with her Masters in Christian Ministries and joined the staff at Hope part time. In the fall of 2017 Alex took on another part time role with Young Life in South Charlotte helping to care for and develop volunteer leaders as well as leading at Myers Park high school.
Alex enjoys life most when she's getting quality time with her friends, but other hobbies for her include going to the movies, binge watching TV shows on Netflix, trying new restaurants, enjoying live music, and traveling. She likes to watch almost all sports, but UNC basketball is her true allegiance.
God has shaped Alex most through the ministry of Young Life, his gentleness and compassion during significant experiences of loss and grief, the counsel and wisdom from the Barnabas Center, the teaching of pastors like Tim Keller and John Piper, and through deep friendships with people who have walked through many different seasons of life with her.
Job Titles:
- Director of Communication
Liza grew up on the water in the small town of Washington, NC. After high school, she attended the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill, one of her favorite places in the world, where she majored in Communication Studies and Religious Studies.
After college, Liza moved to Charlotte in 2012 for the Fellows Program. It was through this program that she was first introduced to Hope. Liza stayed in Charlotte after the Fellows program and worked at a marketing agency for almost four years prior to joining the Hope team.
Growing up on the coast, her favorite place to be is on a boat or by the water. She loves the Tar Heels (maybe too severely), enjoying good food and a glass of wine with friends, and playing tennis.
Liza grew up in a family that knows and loves Jesus, which has shaped a lot of her knowledge and understanding of who He is. Other influences on her faith have been the ministries of Young Life and Cru, the Fellows program, her attendance of Hope, and Hayden Carter.
Job Titles:
- Youth & Family Ministries Coordinator
Job Titles:
- Elder
- Interim Cotswold Site Pastor
Mark was born and raised in Clinton, Mississippi; attended high school in Dunwoody, Georgia; and went to college at Wake Forest University. After graduating from college, he stayed in North Carolina. He has lived in Winston-Salem, Greensboro, and Charlotte. In 1994 he met and married Holly Love Hillsman. They have two adult children Laurel and Davis.
After spending eight years as a youth minister and Young Life volunteer, the Uptons moved to Charlotte in 1998 to complete Mark's seminary training. In 2000, Mark was ordained as a Teaching Elder in the Presbyterian Church in America. He served as Pastor of Missions and Evangelism at Uptown Church from 2000-2002. In 2002, Uptown called him to daughter Hope.
Mark grew up Southern Baptist, came to Christ through a Methodist youth group, was discipled in a Church of Christ, and trained in ministry by Young Life. But he would say he really didn't understand the Gospel until he was counseled by an elder at Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Winston-Salem who had been discipled by Jack Miller and trained under Larry Crabb and Dan Allender.
The biggest influences on Mark's spiritual development and ministry philosophy have been Tim Keller, Jack Miller, Dan Allender, Larry Crabb, John Piper, Brennan Manning, Henri Nouwen, Frederick Buechner, Lesslie Newbigin, and Young Life. When he has some time to himself, he loves to work out at Iron Tribe, watch Alaska shows with Holly, eat out, fly fish, watch football, travel, enjoy craft beer and wine, tell stories, and read science fiction.
Job Titles:
- Pastor of Spiritual Formation and Staff Development
Matt was born and raised in the small farming town of Mullins, SC. Growing up, most of his time was spent playing sports or hunting with his dad and 2 brothers. He grew up in the church but did not understand the gospel of grace and as a result he didn't love Jesus (or anyone else) half as much as he loved himself. Matt was a very self-righteous person who really hurt his family and friends with his arrogant pride, judgment, and criticism.
After high school, Matt attended The Citadel, where he played football. Upon graduating from The Citadel, Matt took a job working as a graduate assistant strength & conditioning coach at Clemson University. Upon arriving at Clemson, a good friend began to explain to Matt the gospel of grace. Matt says, "Over the course of the next year, everything I thought about God, myself, and life completely changed. For the first time in my life, God's grace was truly amazing."
In 2006, Matt married the most amazing woman he had ever met, Stephanie, and they moved to Charlotte to finish his seminary training. Upon arriving in Charlotte, good friends invited them to Hope, where he met Mark Upton and Matt Guzi and began to experience a gospel-centered community like he had never seen before. The authenticity of the people at Hope, especially the leaders, who led out of their weakness and need of grace, was both attractive and scary at the same time.
Over the next two years, Jesus used Hope to help Matt understand the gospel of grace at a deeper and richer level than he ever imagined. He began to understand that he was a far worse sinner than he ever knew, but also that he was more deeply loved than he could have ever dreamed. In May of 2008, Matt graduated from Reformed Theological Seminary in Charlotte with his Masters of Divinity degree and accepted a call to Hope as a pastor. He still wakes up most days thinking that the gospel is too good to be true for a sinner like him.
Matt has been greatly influenced by both Mark Upton and Matt Guzi, as well as men like Will Huss, Roger Edwards, Tim Keller, Paul David Tripp, Michael Horton, John Calvin, Jonathan Edwards, Pat Conroy, Dabo Swinney, Nick Saban, and Alan Jackson. He and Stephanie have three daughters, Lucy June (2009), Mary Rachel (2011), and Kate Briggs (2014). Most of his time is spent hanging out with his family, working out, watching college football, or reading a good Pat Conroy book.
Job Titles:
- South End Children 's Ministry Coordinator
Sara grew up in a small town outside of Chicago where she came to know Jesus at a young age. Her relationship with Christ took off as she became involved in her youth group at Willow Creek. At age 14, Sara moved with her family to Columbia, SC. She still misses all the snow!
After high school, Sara attended Columbia International University where she studied Psychology and Bible. From a young age she knew that she wanted to work with hurting individuals, mainly children. After moving to Charlotte in 2005, she worked with young girls in a children's home and then spent 5 years working for a foster care agency, supervising placements and supporting parents.
A few months after moving to Charlotte, Sara met Phil and began dating. After three years of dating, they were married at Hope in the Korean church. Shortly after the birth of their firstborn, Sara felt the call to go back to school to pursue her masters in counseling. Five years and one more boy later, she graduated with her masters in Christian counseling. Her desire is to use these skills to work with children and support parents.
Job Titles:
- Pastor of Community Groups
Job Titles:
- OP Women 's Ministry Coordinator
Stephanie has been at Hope since 2006, when she moved here for her husband, Matt, to finish seminary at RTS. She is from Charleston, SC and graduated from Clemson University. Matt and Stephanie have three young daughters: Lucy, Mary Rachel, and Kate. She loves quality time with friends, traveling, and shopping of any kind.
Job Titles:
- Deacon
- South End Deacon ( Sabbatical )
Trip was born in Cary, NC, and lived there until he went to college at UNC-Chapel Hill. After graduating in 2010, he served with Cru in Beirut, Lebanon, and then worked as a digital media strategist for Trans World Radio back in North Carolina. In 2014, Trip came on board as the youth ministry director at Peace Church, the same church he grew up in. Experiencing youth group as both the "cool" high school guy who harassed the youth leaders and then later the youth leader who got harassed by the "cool" high school guys was formative to Trip's understanding of church.
Also in 2014, Trip married his wise, funny, and resplendent wife, Brently, which was one of the best things to ever happen to him. Everyone agrees he really outkicked his coverage! Trip and Brently moved to Charlotte for seminary in 2018, and in 2020 they celebrated the birth of their first son, Charlie, which was one of the best and most tiring things to ever happen to them. In 2021, Trip completed his M.Div studies at Reformed Theological Seminary, and shortly thereafter came on staff at Hope.
The major spiritual influences in Trip's life are his parents, Jerry McFarland, Miles O'Niell, Tim Keller, Cole McLaughlin, his wife Brently, Richie Sessions, C.S. Lewis, Disney and Pixar. Trip loves going on long walks with his dog, Scout; working out, but in a leisurely fashion; reading sci-fi and fantasy books; watching movies; and eating Mexican food.