Jerry & Linda Craven - Pastor
Jerry and Linda, under the direction of GFA, served the Lord in New Zealand for over 20 years. After assisting veteran missionaries for a time, they were asked to assume the pastoral leadership of Taupo Bible Church. In 2021, the Lord directed them to return to the states where they later joined the ministry of Catawba Springs Christian Church.
Jerry grew up in North Carolina. After completing his graduate work, he worked with a ministry that coordinated mission trips for young people and then later with a construction firm that built several of the fundamental church in the Greenville area. Linda received her degree in education and returned to Pennsylvania to teach 4th grade. After 7 years of teaching, she moved to Greenville, SC to work as a secretary for The Wilds Christian Camp. Jerry and Linda met while attending Faith Baptist Church in Taylors and were later married.
Seeking to follow the Lord’s leading in their lives, Jerry became the interim pastor of Catawba Springs Christian Church in May 2024. Jerry and Linda have a desire to build Christ’s Church through evangelism of the lost and the growth of believers.
Mac & Beth Lynch - Music
Mac and his wife, Beth, reside in Apex, NC and started their ministry at Catawba Springs in September of 2012. He was born and raised in Cape Cod, Massachusetts where he grew up in a Christian home. He attended Bob Jones University where he received both a Bachelor of Arts (1976) and a Master of Arts (1979) in sacred music.
After receiving his degrees, Mac traveled with The Wilds Evangelistic Team for three years before marrying Beth. While “on the road,” Mac and Beth were blessed with two sons, Christopher and Caleb.
In 1988, Mac became part of the full-time music staff at The Wilds Christian Camp and Conference Center near Rosman, North Carolina. Through that ministry, he has composed, arranged, published, and ministered with God-honoring Christian music.
Having ministered in hundreds of local churches, the Lynches are sensitive to the needs of the church. This is evidenced by their work in producing and publishing many choral arrangements and recordings. Their desire is to see the Lord Jesus Christ exalted through Christ-honoring music and to be a blessing and encouragement to believers in the local church.
Ethan & Shea Slepitis - Youth
Ethan and his wife, Shea, live in Apex, NC, and began their ministry at Catawba Springs in July of 2020. Ethan was born in Galloway, New Jersey, and was raised in Ventnor Heights, NJ.
Ethan attended Ambassador Baptist College, where he graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Pastoral Studies in 2017 and a Master’s degree in Sacred Theology in 2019. After meeting in college, Ethan and Shea were married in June of 2019.
His burden is for youth to take their faith personally and seriously, to realize God has a plan for their lives that starts now, and to see that the Bible gives answers and direction to all of their problems.