Leadership & Staff

Aaron’s journey with Jesus began early—at age 7 during a transformative church camp experience. When his family moved to Nashville in the early nineties, Aaron chased his musical dreams, eventually becoming a founding member of Sonicflood while still in high school. His passion for worship led him on tours across the country with both Sonicflood and later with By The Tree, where he spent years connecting people to God through music.

In 2007, Aaron’s calling took him to southern California, where he rediscovered the profound impact of the local church community and its power to transform lives. This experience ignited a deeper passion for helping churches reach and connect with people in meaningful ways.

Returning to Tennessee in 2014, Aaron joined Fellowship as Worship Pastor before transitioning into communications leadership in 2018. As Executive Leader of Communications, Aaron now leads strategic efforts to ensure Fellowship’s message reaches as many people as possible—because he believes everyone deserves to hear about the life-changing hope only found in following Jesus. Aaron lives in Franklin with his wife Mandi, and their three children.

Jeff Gipe grew up in a small rural town in Northern California and met his wife, Teresa, in 1977. They married the following year and moved to Southern California in 1982. After welcoming their son in 1985, Jeff gave his life to Christ in 1990 at the age of 31—a turning point that reshaped the course of his life. 

He served as a lead pastor for 16 years in Newport Beach, California, where his passion for missions and church planting grew. Following that season of ministry, Jeff earned a Master of Applied Biblical Leadership from Western Seminary to further equip him for what was next. 

When their son, daughter-in-law, and two granddaughters decided to move to Tennessee, Jeff and Teresa followed—eager to be part of their next chapter as a family. 

In 2023, God opened the door for Jeff to step fully into his calling by joining the staff at Fellowship Bible Church as the Leader of Local and Global Outreach—a role he often calls “the best job at the church.” He now spends his days equipping and encouraging ministry partners both locally and around the world, combining his pastoral heart with a global vision. 

Eric grew up in a small town in Michigan. At a young age, he was introduced to Jesus at church and home. While on a high school mission trip in Mexico, he committed to following Jesus, a decision that has altered his life since.

Eric holds a Bachelors degree in Christian Ministry from Spring Arbor University where he met his wife, Melissa. He has a Masters in Christian Leadership from Southern Seminary. He moved to Nashville in 2010 to help lead the launch of the Franklin campus. He now serves as an executive pastor.

His life was transformed at Fellowship and it is his passion to steward life change in Jesus by helping others take the inside-out transformational journey of the heart. He loves serving the church by developing resources to see people become wholehearted disciples who help others follow Jesus through intentional relational disciple-making.

Marilyn has the privilege of serving on staff at Fellowship as Director of Human Resources. Prior to joining the staff team in 2018, she served as the Finance Director at a para-church organization for 9 years and before that managed a small business that she co-owned for 16 years. Marilyn holds a business degree in Management & Human Resources from Trevecca University.

Marilyn grew up in rural Pennsylvania in the Mennonite community. While she knew God and received Jesus at an early age, the suffering and brokenness of a difficult season later in her life brought a spiritual awakening where Jesus truly captured her heart. Nothing brings her greater joy than seeing the evidence of redemptive grace, the transformative work of Christ’s love, and the beautiful tapestry God weaves through story. Marilyn is the proud mom to four amazing children, Molly Kate, Adam, Jake, and Elizabeth.

Rob Howard grew up in a Christian home and came to faith in Christ at the age of nine. As a teenager, he sensed a clear call to ministry and has spent the decades since faithfully following that call. Ministry has become woven into the fabric of his everyday life.

Rob graduated from Baylor University and Southern Methodist University with degrees in Music Composition and Theory. In 1994, he and his wife, Kirsten, were married and moved from Dallas to Nashville that same year. He spent ten years with Word Music, developing worship resources for the Church.

Rob and Kirsten became members of Fellowship Bible Church in 2004. A year and a half later, Rob joined the staff full-time as Pastor of Worship & Arts. He currently serves as Executive Pastor, overseeing Weekend Ministry, Family Ministry, and Spiritual Formation. He has been leading and shepherding in church ministry—both part-time and full-time—for over 30 years.

In 2007, Rob co-founded Little Big Stuff with his friend David Guthrie. Through this venture, he continues to write and produce kids’ musicals that serve the Church and proclaim the gospel.

Rob and Kirsten live in Brentwood and have three adult children: Caleb and his wife Nicole, Sarah and her husband Jason, and their youngest, Ben.

JJ’s story begins in Memphis, TN, where he was born, raised, and came to faith in Jesus at an early age. It was during his junior year at Memphis State University, while pursuing a pre-law degree, that he sensed God’s call into ministry—a call he has been answering for nearly four decades. He has served on church staffs across Tennessee and Texas, with more than 30 of those years devoted to youth and family ministry. Currently, JJ serves as Pastor of Groups at Fellowship, leading a team dedicated to helping adults find genuine community and grow as disciples through Men’s, Women’s, Groups, and Young Adult ministries. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree from Union University, a Master of Divinity from Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary, and a Doctor of Ministry from Fuller Theological Seminary.

JJ and Anna have been married since 1990, and in 2016, they made their way back to Tennessee when they joined the Fellowship Bible Church family. They call Franklin home and are the parents of two grown children and grandparents to two grandchildren. JJ is deeply passionate about family and discipleship, convinced that both thrive best in authentic community. He believes the church is at its healthiest when it functions as the family God designed it to be — a people who follow Jesus together, grow as disciples side by side, and help all generations follow him. That conviction inspired his first book, Reimagining Church as Family. More broadly, JJ loves coming alongside people to help them cultivate lasting legacies in their families, their leadership, and their lives.

When he’s not doing that, you’ll likely find him hiking a trail, out on the water in his kayak, savoring his Sabbath Day, going on a date with Anna, or being “Papa J” to his grandkids. He’s also a self-proclaimed world’s biggest U2 fan. For JJ, the work at Fellowship isn’t just a calling—it’s a genuine joy: equipping leaders, building community, and walking with people as they leave a legacy of faith in every place they live, work, and play.

Larry Kayser was raised in a Catholic home and attended Catholic school for 12 years. He knew about Jesus—and believed that He died and rose again—but his faith was still heavily rooted in justice. The gospel of grace simply seemed unimaginable. In college, Larry met his wife Anne. After 18 months of dating, and countless conversations and fights about faith, Anne decided to end the relationship. After storming out of her apartment, the Lord pulled hard on Larry’s heart before he could get to his car. Returning to Anne’s apartment, Larry told her he knew that the gospel of grace and forgiveness was true, and received Christ that day.

Larry graduated from Bowling Green State University with a BS in Photojournalism. He worked as a photojournalist for 10 years before experiencing a strong calling into ministry. This led Larry and his young family on a four and half year journey of full-time work and part-time seminary training. Larry graduated in 1988 with a M.Div. from Grace Seminary in Indiana.

Following seminary, Larry joined Willow Creek Community Church in Illinois, leading a ministry for engaged and young married couples, while also helping the church develop a quarterly magazine. In 1993, Larry left staff at Willow Creek to plant a church in Holland, MI. Larry served as lead pastor there before joining Fellowship in 2006.

Now the Marriage Pastor here at Fellowship, Larry’s role here has allowed he and Anne to return to their real first love—marriage and family ministry. During the past 15 years, the Kaysers have had the opportunity to speak to thousands of couples leading Weekend to Remember marriage conferences. At the same time, they have faithfully developed of a ministry here at Fellowship that is committed to building gospel-centered marriages.

Larry and Anne reside in Franklin and have been married for 42 years. They feel so fortunate to have three of their four daughters and eight of their eleven grandchildren living nearby

Born in Valdosta, GA, Tim grew up in a military family. They moved a lot through Tim’s middle school years until settling back in Valdosta. Tim moved to Nashville, sight unseen, in 1981 and attended Lipscomb University. He never imagined meeting Lisa his senior year. The two were married right out of college and are now celebrating almost 40 years of marriage.

Tim grew up in a church family but struggled with all the rules. As a young parent in crisis, Tim met Jesus, and he transformed his heart. Tim has since been involved in Men’s ministry. 

Tim and Lisa have 3 grown children and 5 young granddaughters. They have spent most of their married life in Franklin, TN. Tim’s 30+ year career includes various leadership roles, mostly in technology. He and Lisa have been members at Fellowship since 2005 and currently attend the Franklin campus.

Amy is one of the many California natives who now call Tennessee home. She made her way to Nashville in 2010 and has never looked back! Her faith story began in middle school at Hume Lake Christian Camps, an experience so formative that it shaped not only her walk with Jesus but her heart for students ever since. 

After college, Amy found herself in an unexpected place—the corporate hospitality and guest services world. Her degree said Music Education, but God had other plans, and over 11 years, she discovered a deep passion for helping people feel genuinely seen and welcomed. When the door opened to join Fellowship’s Connections Ministry as an Administrator, it felt like everything clicking into place. That Music Education degree eventually came full circle too, bringing her onto the team that serves our global partners in Slovenia through a music and arts camp—a trip that turned into something more, with God calling her to serve as the Country Champion for our Slovenia Global partnership. 

Alongside all of that, Amy has spent the last 10 years serving with Fellowship Student Ministry because she hasn’t forgotten what it meant to have her faith shaped during those years. In 2024, she stepped into her current role as the Director of Connections, a role that’s deeply personal. Fellowship’s community has been one of the greatest gifts of her life, and her greatest joy is making sure others don’t miss out on it. 

Marty comes from Dayton, Ohio and was raised by hard-working, blue-collar parents. He attended church regularly but had no personal faith of his own. In his senior year of college, two roommates relentlessly shared Christ with him and on October 17, 1981 Marty came to faith in Christ. He was truly born again and has never been the same.

While in college, Marty met and fell in love with his future wife, Lora, at the University of Dayton. Lora became a nurse and Marty became a systems engineer working on all kinds of Air Force weapon systems at Wright Patterson Air Force Base. They married in 1984 with babies arriving shortly thereafter.

Fast forward a few years and through their passion for evangelism at their local church, they became convinced that God was calling them to full-time ministry, willing to “go anywhere and do anything for Christ.” They quit jobs, pulled up roots, raised support and moved away to focus on serving families through FamilyLife, a marriage and parenting ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ. While there, Marty served as executive director touching hundreds of thousands of lives. Marty and Lora served with FamilyLife until 1998 when they felt led to help a new church get off the ground in Franklin, Tennessee. It was Fellowship Bible Church.

Today, Marty serves as the Pastor of Family Ministry, or as he likes to say “the Pastor of All Things Wonderful.” He leads a wide range of ministries including Fellowship Kids, Fellowship Student Ministry, Marriage Ministry, Family Ministry, Promiseland/Childcare, and specialized ministries, including Adoption, Foster and Orphan Care, and Special Needs Ministry. Together, he and Lora have four grown children and two grandchildren.

Every week you will see Marty and Lora serving with big grins in the Learning Center, expressing their love and care to all. And behind every interaction is their passion for proclaiming Christ and growing children, students and families in their faith.

Lloyd grew up in a military family that eventually settled down in Clarksville, TN. When he was a senior in high school, Lloyd trusted Christ as his Lord and Savior. His spiritual journey grew most significantly during his college years through the work and ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ (Cru) at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

After college graduation, Lloyd worked with FamilyLife in Little Rock, AR for 15 years. During that time he met Lisa and they were married in 1991. He attended Dallas Theological Seminary from 1991 to 1993 where he earned his Master of Arts in Biblical Studies (M.A.B.S.). Lloyd and his family moved to Franklin at the end of 1996 to co-plant Fellowship Bible Church, where he currently serves as one of the teaching pastors.

Lloyd and Lisa have been married for 34 years and reside in Franklin. They have three children: Darden (Jordyn), Susan, Sally, and one grandson, Payson.

Monty serves as the Associate Pastor of Family Ministry, helping lead our church-wide Family Ministry alongside Marty. After six years focused on Student Ministry, he now oversees both Kids and Student Ministries across campuses—developing staff, shaping strategy, and creating space for kids, students, and families to encounter Jesus.

Monty is originally from a small town in Texas. He earned a degree in Biblical Studies from Dallas Baptist University and is currently pursuing a master’s at Dallas Theological Seminary. During college, he spent his summers at Pine Cove Camps—a place that shaped his faith, clarified his calling, and, as the running joke goes, introduced him to his wife in year five. After graduating, Monty joined Pine Cove’s full-time staff and served there for five years before stepping into local church ministry. Molly, a Tennessee native and proud University of Tennessee grad (Go Vols!), has been by his side since 2014. They now live in South Nashville with their three kids: Addie, Shep, and Wes.

Monty is passionate about theology, leadership development, and helping people step more fully into the life God has called them to live. He believes that discipleship is most powerful when it’s rooted in Scripture, lived out in relationships, and guided by the Spirit. When he’s not at church, you’ll likely find him on the golf course, flipping pancakes on the Blackstone, or getting pulled into an impromptu living room dance party with his kids. He considers it a deep joy to serve at Fellowship and to walk alongside our families and leaders.

Lem grew up in a Christian family in Nashville, Tennessee and believed in Christ at an early age. He participated in high school and college fellowships to grow in his faith. Lem has always been active in the churches he has attended. He enjoys studying and memorizing the Bible. He is a life-long learner and is eager to continue learning as he grows in life and faith. His spiritual gifts are mainly discernment and service.

He obtained an engineering degree from Duke University and, after working for five years, attended Vanderbilt University to obtain a Master of Science degree. He has worked as an environmental engineering consultant to manufacturing facilities since graduating from Vanderbilt and started his own consulting company in 2010. In 2022, he sold this company to two of his employees, and continues to work with them as needed.

After a painful divorce, Lem met Christina and they were married in 2002. She was an immense help in providing a loving home for Lem’s two older children and their youngest son, Luke, who was born a year later. They live in Franklin, where they enjoy close relationships with neighbors and friends. They have served in several capacities at Fellowship throughout their membership and have been active in the Built2Last marriage ministry for more than 10 years, leading groups through Re|Engage and mentoring couples. Lem and Christina are involved in a ministry to teach Burmese children English using the Bible. This ministry also sponsors higher education for promising students with the goal of developing leaders for Burma.

Rob has served in leadership and teaching roles in ministry and corporate settings for over 20 years. Previous pastoral roles include positions at Grace Fellowship Church in Johnson City, TN and McKinney Church in Fort Worth, TX. Before entering vocational ministry, Rob worked at Chick-fil-A, Inc. as a Business Consultant and Leadership Trainer. Rob holds a Bachelor’s Degree and MBA from the University of Georgia, and a Master of Theology from Dallas Theological Seminary. Rob is a passionate teacher with a relational style and has a heart for the intersection of theology and everyday life. In his free time, Rob loves to kayak, watch college football, and create board games with his brother as one half of the “Sweet Bros. Games” team.

Rob met his wife, Jodie, while studying at UGA and they married in 2001. The Sweets live in Franklin with their three daughters – Ansley, Elysa, and Karis.

Eric grew up in McMinnville, TN in a Christian home and came to faith at an early age. He was blessed to have devoted Christian parents that provided great examples of faith and service to God.

Eric is a graduate of Tennessee Tech University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration (Accounting major). Eric met his future wife, Elizabeth, at Tech and they have been married for 35 years and have 3 adult children (two married) and 3 grandchildren who all attend and serve at Fellowship.

Most of Eric’s work life was spent at HCA Healthcare. He worked for the company for 31 years and retired in 2022. Eric has been actively involved in service and leadership with a medical mission organization for over twenty years and served in church roles and faith-based organizations throughout his life.

Eric and Elizabeth enjoy spending time with family, traveling and serving in mission work. They reside on a farm in College Grove.

I was raised in a small farm town in south central Virginia. Both of my parents were believers who took my brother and me with them to the local Baptist church. I first understood the gospel as a part of a sixth grade Vacation Bible School and prayed to receive Jesus as my Savior. Through the student ministry there during my high school years, I came to understand what it meant for Him to also be Lord of my life.

My wife, Terri and I have lived in Nashville for nearly 4 decades. My first decade was spent working on a church staff in West Nashville as Minister of Music and Youth. My last three decades have been spent as a staff songwriter for various publishing companies and working primarily with artists who record in the Contemporary Christian Music genre.

We have been at Fellowship for over 28 years … since the days of meeting at Franklin High School. I previously served as part of the elder team from ‘05 – ’19. We have four adult daughters who live in the area, three sons-in-law, and three grandchildren.

Brian grew up in a small town in northeast Pennsylvania. After growing obsessed with all things music in middle and high school, Brian decided to study music in Nashville, TN at Belmont University as a voice major. When his parents questioned his decision to not pursue a more practical degree he quipped, “plan B is to make plan A work”. During his junior year of college, he had the opportunity to serve as a bass player on the Worship and Arts team at Fellowship Bible Church. After years of watching other worship leaders shepherd and share the word, encouraging congregations between songs, Brian felt God calling him to do the same.

Graduating college in 2010, Brian had the privilege to serve as a worship leader at Willowbrook Church in Huntsville, Alabama for almost two years. When he married his college sweetheart, Christa at Fellowship in 2013, God quickly put it on their hearts to pray for the chance to serve in ministry together. He opened a door at The Chapel, in Getzville, NY and Brian, Christa, and their beagle-Jack Russel pup, Hazel, spent 5 years in ministry in Western New York.

Returning to Nashville in September 2018, Brian had no idea the opportunity to serve at Fellowship would be a possibility but, God graciously opened the door to join the team in April of 2019 as a worship leader for our Franklin Campus. In 2025 he had the opportunity to begin leading the Worship & Arts staff team as Pastor of Worship & Arts and is grateful for God’s kindness to let him use his gifts to help others at Fellowship grow when Fellowship has been such a encouragement and steady voice in his own growth.

Brian and Christa live in Spring Hill, TN with Hazel and their two sons, Jonathan and William. They’re humbled to lead and serve with the best volunteers and staff team any worship leaders could ask for.