Leadership

Pastor Ben Whitmire was born and reared in a small farming community outside of Monroe, N.C. Pastor Ben accepted Christ as his Savior at the age of 15. After answering the call to ministry, he graduated from Fruitland Baptist Bible College with an associate degree, Sparrow Springs Bible College and Seminary with a bachelor’s degree, and Carolina University with a Master’s in Leadership. He is currently working on his PhD in Leadership at Anderson University. Pastor Ben served as a youth pastor and lead pastor of several churches in the Charlotte metropolitan area before spending 14 years in Western North Carolina. He served at Maplewood Baptist Church in Paris, TN before coming to Holly Springs. Ben married his wife, Jenifer, in 1999, and they have two children: Timothy, who passed away in 2018, and Gracie, who recently graduated from Anderson University. He enjoys spending time with his family, hiking, running, playing golf, refereeing basketball, riding his motorcycle, and cheering on the Tennessee Volunteers and the North Carolina Tar Heels. 

David serves as our Associate Pastor and oversees all Student Ministries with his wife Shannon.  Together, they have two boys: Max and Sam. Max lives in Charleston and Sam loves playing on his high school football team.  A graduate of Furman University and Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, he has served several churches and as a missionary with NAMB in New Hampshire and Atlanta. 

Patman Lester began serving as our Minister of Music and Media in October of 2024.  God called Patman to church music ministry while he was studying to be a scholastic choral conductor.  He earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Theory from Furman University and a Master’s Degree in Music Education from Florida State University.  Since answering the call to ministry, he has served churches in Florida, Georgia, and Virginia (and Georgia again) before answering God’s call to Holly Springs. Patman met his wife Susan during his first ministry position near Florida State and they were married in 1996. They have one son, Nathanael, who was born in 2007. The Lesters enjoy singing, vacationing in the mountains, and singing together on their way to the mountains.

Lori began serving as our Financial Administrative Assistant in August of 2025 and is enjoying the warm welcome extended by many.  She has six grown children and soon to be nine grandchildren (one is due in November). Lori graduated with a bachelor’s degree in accounting from USC-Upstate and has worked with retail and church finances for a number of years. If you have a question or would like to say hi, please drop by the office. She looks forward to meeting you!

Karen joined our team in February 2025 after serving nearly 20 years as the Executive Director of a Christian nonprofit and over 30 years in the business world. She brings with her a wealth of administrative experience along with a passion for reaching the hurting and lost with the good news of Jesus Christ.  Karen has two sons, one of whom is a pastor and the other a small business owner.  She looks forward to continuing to serve God’s kingdom in this new chapter of her life as she enjoys semi-retirement.