dmcclung@fbchawkinsville.com
pastor@fbchawkinsville.com

Don McClung has been the pastor of FBC for more than 11 years.

Personal:
Don grew up in Stone Mountain, Georgia, with four brothers and four sisters.  He has been married to Carol Ann Valerius for 29 years.  They have two children: Carrie (27) and David (25).  (Carrie is married and she and her husband Nathan are students at Mercer University’s McAfee School of Theology in Atlanta.  David is a graduate of Savannah College of Art and Design where he currently resides.)  Don enjoys softball, football, and golf.  He also enjoys reading (favorite author is Louis L’Amour and spending time with family and travel.

Education:
Our pastor graduated cum laude from Mercer University in Atlanta in 1977 with a B.A. degree in history, from Southern Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky with a M.Div. degree, in 1983, and from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary with a D.Min. in 1995.  He also studied Marriage and Family Therapy one year Mercer University School of Medicine.

Experience:
Don has been our pastor since July 1997.  Before coming to Hawkinsville, he had served as pastor of First Baptist Doraville, Georgia, and Goshen Baptist in Glen Dean, Kentucky.  He also served ten years as a missionary with the Foreign Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention: as a Journeyman missionary in Kenya (1977-1979) and a career missionary in Recife, Brazil, and in the state of Alagoas, Brazil (1983-1992).

cbritt@fbchawkinsville.com

Personal:
Carson was born and raised in Savannah, Georgia.  He graduated from Mercer University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music and a minor in Christianity.  He is currently in the process of helping his fiancé plan a wedding.  He will marry Jennifer Powell on December 19^th of 2009.  In his free time Carson enjoys spending time with family, playing guitar, golf, softball, soccer, hunting, and Georgia Football!

 Experience:
Carson came to First Baptist Church in September of 2007 as part-time Minister of Youth.  He came to First Baptist after serving as Summer Activities Intern at Immanuel Baptist Church in Savannah.  After serving as youth minister for three short months he was given the opportunity to also serve as Music minister.  He came to our church as a full time staff member immediately after graduating from Mercer University.  He is excited to see how the Lord will use him as he begins the journey of full time ministry

jpowell@fbchawkinsville.com
 

rsmith@fbchawkinsville.com

Personal:

Raina Smith was born in Eastman, GA and grew up in Warner Robins, GA before getting married and moving to Hawkinsville in 2001. She is the proud wife of Hawkinsville native Craig Smith.  Raina also has two children; a boy aged four and a little girl, aged two.

 Experience:

Raina has worked in a variety of education settings. She gained experience at Georgia Southwestern State and University as the lead teacher in their Pre K lab school. She enjoyed interacting with Pre K students and their families as well as observing and demonstrating developmentally appropriate teaching practices to the college students in the Education Program at GCSU. After getting married, she moved and was then employed in the Houston County school system in the special education department.  Raina was the Lead Teacher for the Significantly Developmentally Delayed Kindergarten Class. This was a very rewarding opportunity for her. When the chance to work with her home church in the Children's Weekday Ministries Program became available, Raina was excited to have this opportunity. Working in the Hawkinsville community with the families represented in the Weekday Program has been one of her true joys in life. She has enjoyed being a part of the growth of so many children in the community. She is thankful for the past success of the Weekday Ministries Program and looks forward to seeing many more accomplishments in the future.

Education:

BSEd-- Bachelor of Science in Education
M Ed. Master of Education in Early Childhood Education
ED.S  Education Specialist in Educational Leadership
Special Education Preschool (AGES 3-5) Endorsement