St. Andrew Staff

Rev. Jeff Childress
Pastor

​Rev. Jeff Childress began serving St. Andrew United Methodist Church in June of 2016. A native of Easley, he graduated from Easley High School in 1980, and received his B.S. in Administrative Management from Clemson University in 1984.  For 18 years he worked in a family owned business in the machine tool distribution industry before being called to ministry. In 2004 he received a Master of Divinity degree and a Master of  Arts in Counseling degree from Erskine Theological Seminary. He served as a pastor of Salem UMC from 2002 to 2004, and then as a Minister of Congregational Care at St. Mark UMC from 2004 to 2016.

Jeff met his wife, Delaine, in elementary school and they began dating in high school.  They married following their graduation from Clemson in 1984.  Delaine teaches 7th grade Social Studies at Seneca Middle School.  Jeff and Delaine have two children; their son, Emory, is a student at Anderson University, and their daughter, Georgia, is a student at North Greenville University.

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. 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.
Kim Welborn
Pianist
Kim Welborn is a lifelong member of St. Andrew United Methodist Church where she played the piano for the first time at the age of nine with Thomas Owens on the organ. Kim graduated from Clemson University and taught English at Easley High School and directed the English Education program at Southern Wesleyan University. She has served as pianist for St. Andrew United Methodist Church for many years.  In addition to her role as church pianist, Kim is also a certified Lay Speaker in the United Methodist Church and serves on the South Carolina United Methodist Conference Board of Camps and Retreats.