Leadership

Fellowship’s leadership is comprised of our Lead Pastor and Executive Team, who lead our staff and organization in partnership with our elder board.

Teaching Team

Our teaching team is made up of Rob Sweet, our Lead Pastor, and Lloyd Shadrach, our Founding Pastor. They share the responsibility of teaching in our worship services on Sundays and rotate between our Brentwood and Franklin campuses.

Rob Sweet - Lead Pastor & Teacher
Rob Sweet
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Lloyd Shadrach - Teaching Pastor
Lloyd Shadrach
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Executive Team

The Executive Team consists of our Lead Pastor and three executive pastors. This team is responsible for setting and maintaining organizational direction and leadership for all ministry areas.
 
Rob Sweet - Lead Pastor & Teacher
Rob Sweet
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Rob Howard - Executive Pastor, Weekend Ministries & Spiritual Formation
Rob Howard
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Eric Hoffman - Executive Pastor, Outreach & Ministry Strategy
Eric Hoffman
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Richard Scott - Executive Pastor, Central Services & Pastoral Care
Richard Scott
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Leadership Council

The Leadership Council includes the Executive Team (see above) and various pastors and staff from Fellowship. This group of leaders collaborates on large-scale, strategic initiatives and provides feedback on operational and ministry decisions.
 
Aaron Blanton - Executive Leader, Communications
Aaron Blanton
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Mark Holeman - Pastor of Adult Ministries
Mark Holeman
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William Koellein - Executive Leader, Finance & Operations
William Koellein
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Marty Schwieterman - Pastor of Family Ministry
Marty Schwieterman
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Carl Cartee - Pastor of Worship & Arts
Carl Cartee
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Marilyn Hostetter-Kreider - Director of Human Resources
Marilyn Hostetter-Kreider
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Elders

We believe the Scripture shows that the church is to be governed by a plurality (Acts 14:23) of Spirit appointed (Acts 20:28), qualified men (1 Timothy 3:1-13) who aspire to serve the church (1 Timothy 3:1) by prayerfully caring for the church body (James 5:14), guarding against false doctrine (Acts 20:28-31), teaching the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:27; 1 Timothy 4:13), and providing willing oversight and godly leadership (1 Peter 5:1-3; 1 Timothy 5:17) that enable the church to live out her mission and values. To contact the elders, email

Rob Howard - Executive Pastor, Weekend Ministries & Spiritual Formation
Rob Howard
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Larry Kayser - Pastor of Marriage Ministry
Larry Kayser
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Jon Lowe - Elder, Brentwood
Jon Lowe
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Jeremy Smith - Elder, Brentwood
Jeremy Smith
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Rob Sweet - Lead Pastor & Teacher
Rob Sweet
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Mike Vogt - Elder, Brentwood
Mike Vogt
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Steve Watson - Elder, Brentwood
Steve Watson
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Tim Martin - Elder, Franklin
Tim Martin
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Corey Cleek - Elder, Brentwood
Corey Cleek
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1. Who chooses elders and what is the process for becoming an elder?

By seeking input from the church body, the current elders are responsible for identifying those who are presently “eldering” i.e., living out the responsibilities of eldership above. The process can be summarized by 1) Aspiration: This person aspires to the office. 2) Qualification: This person is qualified. 3) Confirmation: The church body confirms this person’s character. 4) Affirmation: The church body affirms their submission to this elder’s leadership. The entire process takes from nine to twelve months.

2. How many elders are there at Fellowship, and are any staff members elders?

Qualified staff members can be elders, but the majority must be non-staff. Fellowship currently has nine elders, five of whom are non-staff while four are staff members.

3. How are elder decisions made?

Decisions from the board must be unanimous with multiple hearts submitting to the will of one leader – Jesus – and to each other. By this we believe Jesus’ will and character is most fully revealed.

4. How long do elders serve?

Elders commit to serve a three-year term, after which they may re-commit to a second three-year term. After two terms, they will move to “inactive” elder status. After a year as an “inactive” elder, they may be invited to return to an active elder status if needed and they meet all elder requirements.

5. Can women be elders?

Based on the teaching of the New Testament and the pattern of the New Testament church, we believe the primary responsibility for governing and authoritative teaching in the church is given to spiritually called and biblically qualified men. Therefore, while we affirm the role of women in a wide variety of leadership and teaching roles, the biblical office of elder is reserved for men. We also recognize that even among Bible believing churches there is disagreement on this topic. So, while holding this position with biblical conviction, we also hold it with biblical charity and respect for those who believe otherwise.

For a helpful resource on this topic, below is a link to an excerpt from Wayne Grudem's chapter in Systematic Theology on the role of women in the church.

Wayne Grudem on Women as Elders

6. Has Fellowship taught more extensively on eldership?

Yes. The Fellowship teaching pastors taught a three-part series on eldership in 2018. Check out the message series here.