Joel Smith
Joel is a Georgia native and has served in local church ministry his entire career. He earned a Master of Divinity at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. Joel also has an undergraduate degree from Toccoa Falls College in Toccoa, GA. Joel served in student ministry at Providence Baptist Church in Raleigh, NC and The First Baptist Church of Charleston in Charleston, SC. He began serving as lead pastor at Ellaville Baptist in 2015. Joel and his wife Gwen have been married since 2006 and they have four children.
Garrett Newell
Garrett has served on staff at EBC since September of 2023. He is a native of Tifton, GA and has a BS in Organizational Leadership from Valdosta State University. Garrett has played music since he was 13 and started serving in music ministry at Northside Baptist of Tifton when he was 17. He previously served as the Director of Music and Worship at First Baptist Church of Chula from 2020 to 2023. Garrett and his wife, Melisa have been married since 2019 and have two sons.
Tyler Taylor
Tyler has faithfully served as the Minister of Youth and Children at Ellaville Baptist Church for over a year. Alongside his loving wife Whitney, with whom he’s been married to for a few years, they eagerly anticipate the arrival of their first child, a son named Micah. With nearly a decade of diverse ministry experience under his belt, Tyler feels immensely blessed by the opportunities he’s had to serve in various capacities. He harbors a deep hope to witness the young hearts of this community come to know the Lord.