Dr. Michael Helms, Senior Pastor
Michael grew up in a small town in South Alabama, where he grew to appreciate good conversation, nature, sports, family, hard work, school, church, and friendships.

He became a Christian at age ten and made a public commitment to ministry at age eleven. As a senior in high school, he reaffirmed his calling to ministry and began accepting offers to preach.

He trained for ministry at Samford University, the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, where he completed his Master of Divinity with a concentration in pastoral care, and at Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Georgia, where he earned his doctorate.

Michael has also earned four units of clinical pastoral education and has over 2000 hours of service as a chaplain in Georgia's Hospital systems.

Michael's post-seminary ministry began in Hartwell, Georgia where he served as a Minister of Youth from 1988-1992.  Since then he has pastored Clarkesville Baptist Church (1992-1996), Trinity Baptist Church in Moultrie, Georgia (1996-2009), and First Baptist Church of Jefferson since 2009.

Michael has authored four books and has written hundreds of articles for newspapers and websites. His books and many of his other writings are on his website at www.johnmichaelhelms.com.

Michael's wife, Tina, works for the Georgia State Accounting Office in Atlanta. They married in 1984 and have two sons, John and Ryan.

Their older son, John, completed four years of service as a U.S. Marine serving tours of duty in the Persian Gulf, Haiti, and Afghanistan. He is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. He is a firefighter/paramedic and works in Alpharetta. His wife Yami is a nurse, and they have one child, Mia. They reside in Jefferson.

Their younger son, Ryan, is a four-time state diving champion, a USA National Diving Champion, and an Academic and All-American diver at the University of Tennessee. Besides his degree earned from that university, he is also a graduate of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga's Physical Therapy School. His wife Alyssa holds degrees from both the University of Tennessee and the University of Tennessee's Veterinarian School. They are currently working in Blacksburg, Virginia in their respective fields.