St. Andrew Staff

Rev. Dan Batson
Pastor

​Rev. Dan Batson has served in the United Methodist Church for 36 years, and during this period, he has served as senior pastor for 10 churches.  His last three appointments totaled 18 years of his ministry, where he pastored dominant churches in their respective communities.
     Over the years as Pastor Dan and his first wife, Donna Lynn journeyed through cancer together, he captured the journey in writing, which is now published in a book titled, "Morning."  The book was published by Parson's Porch Books in 2020.  Also, Pastor Dan served for 6 years on the South Carolina Board of Paroles and Pardons.  In 2020 he and his wife Rene' decided to take early retirement and though he loved retirement, he loves God more.  God called Pastor Dan out of retirement and back into the ministry to serve at St. Andrew.  Pastor Dan has a BA in English and an M.Ed. in Personnel Services from Clemson.  He received his M. Div. from Erskine Seminary in 1986.  Dan and Rene' are the parents of two children, Monica Romano and Tyler Martin Batson.  

Pam Carnes
Administrative Assistant

Pam Carnes began her ministry as our Administrative Assistant in December 2016 after volunteering for over a year in the church office.  Before coming to St. Andrew, her background was in accounting as the Controller of Renewable Water Resources for 33 years.  We are blessed to have her vast experience in the church office!
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Kara Graham
Director of Children's Ministry
We would like to welcome Kara Graham as our new Director of Children's Ministry!  She has been instrumental in our children's ministry for quite awhile and we are so blessed to have her as a St. Andrew Staff member.  Kara and her husband, Trent, have two boys, Tanner and Brenton.

Christina Figueroa
​Director of Youth Ministry

Christina Figueroa has lived in Easley since 2008 when she moved with her family from Texas. She attended Easley High School and graduated in 2011. She attended Clemson University where she received her B.A. in Spanish and International Business in 2014. She studied abroad in Argentina where she met her husband, Agustin Figueroa. She and Agustin married in 2017, and have a little girl named Sophia and a son named Max. Christina currently teaches Spanish at Daniel High School in Central and loves watching her students grow. She came to St. Andrew UMC as a guest of Virginia Wallace in March 2019 and immediately felt an outpouring of love and sense of community. She and her family joined the church in late 2019 and Christina looks forward to connecting and building a relationship with the youth in order to help them grow both mentally and spiritually through Christ.
Laurie Hunter
Music Minister
Laurie Hunter was born and raised in Easley, where she was active in the music ministry at Easley First Baptist Church, as well as participating in local theater.  She obtained her B. A. in Vocal Performance at Converse College.  She has previously served as choral director at Disciples UMC, St. Andrew UMC, Sans Souci Baptist, and Salem UMC.  She is married to Andy Hunter who is a teacher at Easley High School, and has one daughter, Elliott, who is a 2019 graduate of Winthrop University and is currently pursuing certification in the paralegal program at Greenville Technical College. 
Thomas Owens
Organist
Thomas's family has a long history of music ministry with St. Andrew UMC. Thomas has been playing organ and helping lead worship since he was a young man.