Matt Evans – Lead Pastor

Since accepting Christ as his Savior and Lord on a warm summer day in 1987 in his home in central Ohio, the Reverend Matt Evans has been sharing Jesus with others wherever he goes. While he remains a sinner who fails, he also remains passionate about the church’s need to reach the lost in the great name of our risen Lord, Christ Jesus.

After graduating from Duke with a Masters in Divinity, Reverend Matt served as pastor for four successful years at a beautiful country church just outside of Henderson, NC, where God brought a great revival to Cokesbury United Methodist Church. While serving there he tried to get the people of that community to come to the old-fashion alter and give their life to Christ. Many did and after just several months of preaching, people were regularly traveling good distances to be part of the services there, and to hear Biblical sermons that were flavored with “fire, brimstone, and the powerful love of God to be found in His amazing grace.” His preaching is always relevant, simple, Biblical, and Christ-honoring, but it’s the passion that he speaks of God’s truths that makes him a popular speaker across the southeast.

The bishop and cabinet of the North Carolina Conference of the United Methodist Church, recognizing his evangelistic fervor, appointed Rev. Matt to start a new United Methodist congregation in East Clayton from the ground up – without the ground!

Rev. Matt, along with his beautiful wife Carey, and their two children, Noah and Hannah, believes that this will be a church where the lost are found, the weary find rest, and the weak find strength as they offer Christ to a growing area!

Allen Herridge – Pastor

Born 50 years ago in Syracuse NY to an Air Force family. Spent 18 years traveling with them and then joined the Marine Corps in ‘76 @ the age of 18 and spent the next 23 years traveling for the Marine Corps.

I am blessed by a beautiful and wonderful Christian wife and 4 remarkable adult children. The oldest are identical twin boys (Brian and Keith), they are 27. Keith is Married to Jennifer Herridge and they are expecting their first which will also be my first grand child. My oldest daughter, Meghan will be 21 in a few months and my youngest daughter, Kristen will be 19 in August. Both my daughters attend UNCW.

I graduated with honors from Heritage Bible College with a bachelor’s degree in religious education in ‘06. Heritage is a training ground for Pentecostal Free Will Baptists and Pentecostal Holiness preachers. However, shortly after being licensed as a PH minister I realized that God wanted me to be more interested in having a relationship with him and helping others to do the same than to represent any given denomination. So, while I entirely appreciate and respect all those folks out there toiling in the denominational field in the name of God and am enormously grateful to them for the work they doing in bringing people into life saving relationships with Jesus, I made a very personal (and don’t profess it to be correct, just honest) choice to work for God with an emphasis on relationships over religion.

Jimmy Crayton – Youth pastor

Being born and raised in small-town North Carolina, Stedman to be exact, means that I was raised on small town morals and traditions. These traditions included getting up and going to church ever Sunday. I am the son of parents who were the “do everything” people in our local church. They were chairman of this and that and my dad was also and still is the choir director. So I didn’t have much choice about going to church and I was raised in a Christian home. At 5 years old I started going to Camp Rockfish, a Methodist camp in south eastern NC. Once I got to Junior High I started going to NC Conference Youth Events. I eventually went on to serve as the President of my church’s youth group, President of the Fayetteville District Youth and Vice President of the NC Conference Youth. I have spent the last 11 years as a staff member for various NC Conference youth events.

My faith was dramatically increased, or at least realized the day my son Elijah James Crayton was born on September 22nd, 2007. He was not due until January 2nd, 2008. Standing in a hospital room and hearing a doctor tell you that your first child is about to be born 15 weeks early is not an easy pill to swallow. There was so much chaos when he told us this, including the inability of nurses to find the baby’s heartbeat. With all these emotions running through me, all this fear, suddenly I heard God’s voice and felt his hand. I remember it like it was yesterday. He whispered in my ear: “I got this.” And he did. 110 days, three surgeries (one of his heart) and a lot of prayers later, Elijah was released from the hospital. He is truly a blessing.

I’ve always known that God has a special plan for me. I knew that I had a gift to relate well with youth. I remember hearing that the NC Conference was starting a new church in Clayton. I contacted the pastor, Matt Evans and told him who I was. We met for lunch that week and I’ve been the youth pastor ever since. I am proud to be a “founding member” of Greater Heights and I look forward to seeing what God has in store for me and this church.

Michele Byrum – Children’s Minister

I was born in upstate NY and moved to NC when I was 18. I first found God when I was a child and was told that I had a special heart for the love of God. I am now 31 and have been inspired by Jesus. What I mean is that Jesus has love for children that no other person could have. I strive to be like him when I teach the children. Children have love for God that is so pure. I feel that my purpose is to teach the children it’s ok to love God, live for God, and worship God, NO MATTER WHAT!

Guy Thornton – Minister of Music

Matt Poole – Assistant Minister of Music