Our staff
Pastor - Braden Martin
Pastor Martin was raised in central Louisiana with a Southern Baptist upbringing. His ministry experience includes serving as a missionary in Haifa, Israel, two years as a youth pastor and eight years as a senior pastor. He completed his undergraduate studies at Louisiana College in Pineville, LA and is currently pursuing his Master of Arts in Ministry at Grace Theological Seminary in Winona Lake, IN. He is married to Morgan Martin, and has two little ones Evelynn and J.T. Pastor Martin longs to live out authentic and practical Christianity and cultivate this mature Biblical worldview amongst the congregation of Hopewell. "We serve a REAL GOD and He is REAL GOOD, and we are called to be REAL CHRISTIANS! My style is clear and concise with no employment of tricks, gimmicks, or religious pretenses. We cannot reach the world by worldly means, only Jesus Christ and His glorious gospel can save lives and reach the lost. Let us trust His Word and be faithful to live it and faithful to proclaim it!"
Youth Director - Jamie Buchanan
My name is Jamie Buchanan. I am the youth director at Hopewell Baptist Church. My wife and I have been married for 19 years and we have 3 children and a son-in-law. We believe God has called us, in partnership with parents, to invest in the next generation of young people. The youth are the future of the church so to me it is important to be able to gain their trust and respect first and foremost. I have found with my 25 years of experience working with youth that you have to make them feel a part of what is going on so I strive to do that in my daily Christian walk. I want to inspire them to take faith filled risks and rely on God in all situations. My prayer daily is that when they leave the youth department here at Hopewell that each of them have a passion of Jesus and be the light in this dark world.
Children's Director - Lisa Dale
It is a pleasure to serve as the Children's Director at Hopewell. I became a Christian one night in a revival meeting at the church I grew up in. My parents took my brothers and I to church, therefore we grew up in GA's, RA's, training union and Sunday School. I have been a member of Hopewell since 2006. The Lord sent my family and I to Hopewell as we were looking for a church who loved kids and invested 100% in them and wanted children to establish a relationship with the Lord. I have served on several committees while attending Hopewell. I am the mother of two children. A son Caleb who lives in Franklin, NC with his wife Tori and their two girls. I also have a daughter Kaitlin who lives in Morganton and also goes to church at Hopewell with her Husband Nathan and their 2 sons. Both my children were married at Hopewell as well as me and my husband Ervin. Nothing gives me more pleasure to spend time with those I love the most including my Jesus. I love Jesus Christ as my personal Savior. I have been through many trials and valleys but no matter what happened I knew I could depend on the only one true friend I had and that was Jesus. He has never forsaken me or let me down. Life is not always easy but one thing for sure is that Jesus will always be there.
I hope by being the Children's Director that I can help the children develop a relationship with Jesus and one day ask him to come into their life and be a disciple and follower of Jesus. Our kids deserve that we invest in them to the fullest. Who knows we may have a pastor, music leader, Sunday School Director or someone who loves to tell about the love of Jesus. I hope I can be there for them and help them be their best for our future of Hopewell Baptist Church.