Pastors
Jamie Duncan
Senior Pastor
jamie@eastpickens.org
Jamie has been the Senior Pastor of East Pickens since 2011. Jamie was born and raised in Pickens and at East Pickens Baptist Church. Before becoming the Senior Pastor he served as the Minister of Students and the Pastor of Young Families from 1997-2008. He returned to East Pickens after pastoring Good Hope Baptist Church in Iva, SC. Jamie graduated from Furman University and earned his Masters of Divinity from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. He has been married to Chrissy since 2000 and they have 3 children: Anna Beth, Sarah, and Brooke. Jamie enjoys outdoor adventure, all kinds of music, and Clemson sports.
Allen Sherwood
Executive Pastor
allen@eastpickens.org
Allen is passionate about seeing members plugged into ministry. His desire is for the Lord to use his gifts of administration, teaching and leadership to strengthen His church. Prior to coming to East Pickens he served as the Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church-East Flat Rock, NC for 3-1/2 years. Before that, he served as the Minister of Education & Youth at Overbrook Baptist Church in Greenville, SC for 8-1/2 years. He also served as Minister of Youth & Activities at two other churches from 1995-1999. Allen received a Bachelor of Science Degree/Church Recreation from Mars Hill College in 1991 and a Master of Arts in Christian Education from Southern Seminary in 1993. He is married to Carey Sherwood, who was raised at EPBC. Allen & Carey have three children: Campbell, Gatlin, and Macrae.
Nick Smith
Associate Pastor of Next generation
nick@eastpickens.org
Nick oversees the Kids, Student, College Ministries as well as the Young Adult, Intern Program, and Missions at East Pickens. He has been serving the Lord in student ministry since 2005 in part time and full time capacities. Nick recently graduated with a Bachelors of Science in Biblical and Theological Studies from Liberty University. His passion is to see people of all ages come to know Christ. Nick is married to his high school sweetheart, Katie. They have 4 children, Adalyn, Gracyn, Chloe and Declan. Nick enjoys working with his hands, hunting, fishing, playing ball, laughing with friends, coffee, and spending time with his family.
Caleb Baker
Associate Pastor of Worship and Technology
Caleb@eastpickens.org
Caleb has been involved in ministry since the age of 9 when he started out on a drum set playing for a gospel music group. He is passionate about using music as a vehicle to lead people into God’s presence in worship, as well as equipping teams to do the same. Caleb previously worked for 16 years in the audio, video and lighting industry. He enjoys helping churches use their resources to honor God in the best way possible through the use of technology. Now, he has the opportunity to use these skills and past life experiences to pastor and shepherd teams and individuals in our worship ministry. Caleb is married to Kayla, who also leads worship with him, and they have one daughter, Ella. Music is a huge passion of their entire family. Caleb is an outdoorsman and loves to hunt, fish, and enjoy nature.
Ministry Directors
Lisa Farsht
Celebrate Recovery Director
cr@eastpickens.org
Lisa is a Licensed Professional Counselor and Addiction Counselor who is married to Randy Farsht for 27 years and has two adult children, Isaac and Chante. She placed strong emphasis on the power of Christ, community, and recovery. Having been in recovery herself, she has a passion to pass on the hope, encouragement and life-skills through CR to others in her community and to reduce the stigma concerning the real struggles in mental health, addiction, and in relationships, or as we say at CR, our hurts, habits, and hangups.
Jordan & Amber Lee
Young Adults ministry Directors
youngadults@eastpickens.org
Jordan and Amber have a longing to reach and pour into young adults in our church and community. They have both been attending EPBC for over 3 years. During their time here they have served as volunteers in our youth ministry.
Jordan graduated from Tri-County Technical College in 2017 with Associates degree in Industrial Electronics. He currently works for Pickens County Administrative Office in the Building Codes department. Jordan enjoys watching sports and spending time outdoors. He is excited to lead this ministry and form new relationships with young people!
Amber is passionate about serving and helping others! She really enjoys connecting with students in the youth group and in young adults. Amber recently graduated from Tri-County Technical College with a degree in Nursing.
Gabe & Jada Sickels
Club 56 (5th and 6th Grade) Ministry Directors
club56@eastpickens.org
Gabe and Jada have a heart for the in-between students who are out of elementary but not yet into the youth. They have served as interns for East Pickens KIDS in summer 2021.
Gabe is one of our worship leaders on Sunday mornings. He enjoys creating, singing, and writing music. Gabe graduated from Anderson University with a degree in Communications (Digital Media). He is planning on continuing his education at Southeastern Seminary. Gabe is currently over our social communications and website for EPBC along with other duties in the church. He is a big football and basketball fan.
Jada loves serving in the preschool and Club 56 ministries at EPBC. She is passionate about showing kids what it means to live and love like Jesus! Jada graduated with a degree in Human Development and Family Studies from Anderson University, and is an Early Interventionist at Bright Start.
Heather Hendricks
Children’s Ministry Director
children@eastpickens.org
Heather and her family have been members of East Pickens for many years. She recently joined the church staff in May. She loves children and has served in children’s ministry for 20+ years. Heather has a degree in Early Childhood Education from Middle Tennessee State University. Her family moved to Easley in 2012 (but she is a Tennessee girl through and through!). Heather is a home educator when not working at the church. She is married to Doug and they have four children.
Carey Sherwood
Preschool Ministry Director
preschool@eastpickens.org
Carey joined our staff in September of 2019. She has a degree in Early Elementary Education from Clemson University. She loves how children love big and wants to help parents build a lifelong foundation for following Jesus. Carey is married to our Executive Pastor, Allen, and they have three children together. She is a native of Pickens and attended East Pickens throughout her life.
Staff
Jenny Owens
Financial Secretary
jenny@eastpickens.org
Jenny joined the church staff in September of 1997. She has her Associate Degree in Accounting. She works with the church treasurer, staff, finance team, and Missions Director to manage contributions, accounts payable, mission funds, building funds, and the payroll needs of the church. Jenny has lived in Pickens all her life. She and her husband, David, were married in 1978. They have two sons, Jeremy and Justin. She has been a member of East Pickens for over 40 years. Jenny also serves on the Hostess Team and in the nursery. She has previously served as Sunday school teacher in the preschool, children and youth ministries.
Mary Ann Conlon
administrative assistant
maryann@eastpickens.org
Mary Ann joined our staff in November 2021. She retired in 2021 and was excited to be able help out part time as the administrative assistant for the church. She is the Church Clerk, oversees the EPBC News and Daily Devotional emails, as well as handling other administrative tasks. Mary Ann has been a member since 2016. She previously worked full time at North Greenville University and before that at the South Carolina Baptist Convention.
Kayla Baker
administrative assistant
kayla@eastpickens.org
Kayla joined our staff in November of 2021. She handles the design of the weekly worship folder and announcement slides as well as other graphic design projects. Kayla has attended East Pickens since birth. She is thankful for the opportunity to work alongside her husband, Caleb Baker, our Associate Pastor of Worship and Tech.