OUR TEAM
The Session
In the Presbyterian Church of America, individual churches are led by appointed leaders called elders who serve together on a board called the Session. The Session is collectively tasked with the government and spiritual oversight of the church. There are two types of elders: ruling elders, who are appointed and ordained to lead and shepherd the church, and teaching elders, who are ordained ministers called to that same task, as well as to shepherd the church through teaching, preaching, and administering the sacraments.
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Morgan Angert
Senior Pastor
Originally from Roswell, GA, Morgan attended the University of Georgia where he met his wife, Lauren. After college, Morgan and Lauren lived and served at churches in Colorado for 6 years, first in Fort Collins and then in Denver. While in Denver, Morgan completed his Masters of Divinity at Denver Seminary in Littleton, CO. In 2016 Morgan and Lauren returned to Athens to help plant Good Shepherd where Morgan served as assistant pastor and then associate pastor. By the grace of God, Morgan was called as the senior pastor of GSPC in February of 2021. Morgan and Lauren have three daughters: Lucy, Alice, and Esme.
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Ryan Vangsnes
Elder & Pastoral Intern
Ryan currently serves as the Pastoral Intern at Good Shepherd and is working towards his MDiv from RTS Atlanta. He oversees Community Groups, Adult Education, and Liturgy Formation at the church. He and his wife, Mallory, have four wonderful but rowdy boys (Ollie, Wilder, Davy, and George). Aside from spending time with family, he enjoys traveling, live music, a good landscape project, mountain biking, and quality time with friends.
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Chris Thurmond
Elder
A native Athenian, Chris did not grow up in the church, but God used friendships and the ministry of Reformed University Fellowship (RUF) to convert him with the Gospel of Jesus Christ while attending Vanderbilt University. Chris met his wife Deborah through Vanderbilt RUF, and after graduation they married and soon moved to Athens, Georgia for Chris to attend pharmacy school and to help plant Redeemer Presbyterian Church with their former Vanderbilt RUF Campus Minister, Hal Farnsworth. After almost 20 years serving as a deacon at Redeemer, they were asked to help with the Redeemer church plant here at Good Shepherd. Chris and Deborah have two children, Sarah Elisabeth and Christopher, and live, work and attend church in the Normaltown neighborhood.
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Mike Hodges
Elder
Mike Hodges has been a member of Good Shepherd since the formation of the church plant core group in 2015. He was elected and ordained as a ruling elder for the church during the church’s particularization in 2019. In addition to serving the church, Mike works as the Vice President of Public Safety for Piedmont Healthcare. He is married to his beautiful wife, Katherine and together they have three wonderful children, James, Emma, and Mary Lauren.
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Nathan Moore
Elder (On Sabbatical)
Nathan has been a member at Good Shepherd since 2016, when the church was founded. He and his wife, Katie, are the proud parents of a daughter, Charlotte, and a golden retriever named Lilly. Nathan loves reading, running, traveling, and spending time with Katie and Charlotte (and Lilly, too...most of the time).
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David French
Elder
Dr. David French is a veterinarian that has spent his career serving the poultry industry throughout the Southeast. He graduated from the University of Georgia with a DVM degree in 1984 and a post-doc Masters of Avian Medicine in 1985. While the French family has lived in several states over the years, Athens, Georgia has always been considered home. Dr. French and his wife Lyn returned home to Athens, Ga in January of 2020 to finish his career on faculty at the University of Georgia and to be close to his two children and six grandchildren. In moving back to Athens, Good Shepherd Presbyterian Church became their new home. The French family was drawn to Good Shepherd because they wanted to be part of a church plant, to experience the joy of seeing what God can do when people come together for the purpose of sharing the exciting truth of the Gospel, and loving the community in which they are placed.
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Chris Byrd
Elder
Chris and his wife Catherine moved to Athens in 2018 so he could take a position as the Executive Director of Downtown Ministries, a local nonprofit organization that invests in the kids in our community. They have been a part of Good Shepherd since they moved, and Good Shepherd has quickly grown to be a very dear place to both of them. Through new friendships, community groups, and women’s and men’s ministries, Good Shepherd has helped continue to grow their relationship with Christ. Chris is excited about the future for GSPC as we work together to be Rooted in the gospel, Reflect the kingdom, and Reach our city. As an elder, he looks forward to continuing to grow in his own relationship with Christ and working with the other leaders in the church to help the rest of our church grow to know him better, too.
The Diaconate
Whereas the office of elder is established in Scripture as an office of oversight, shepherding, and spiritual guidance, the office of deacon is set forth as one of tangible service and mercy. As it says in our Presbyterian Book of Church Order, "it is the duty of deacons to minister to those who are in need, to the sick, to the friendless, and to any who may be in distress." Our deacons work alongside the Session in order to serve and equip others to serve the physical needs of our congregation, our facility, and our community.
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Chet Bennett
Deacon
Chet is the Facilities Manager at Redeemer and he and his wife Savannah live in Nicholson. He loves to be outside and play pickleball.
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Joseph Black
Deacon
Joe grew up in Norcross, GA before attending UGA for undergrad. At UGA, he became involved with RUF and interned with our sister church, Redeemer, before attending seminary in Philadelphia. Joe currently serves on the diaconate at Good Shepherd and has volunteered with Redeemer’s youth ministry programs for 7 years. He’s looking forward to the opportunity to see the youth ministry program at work in the lives of families at Good Shepherd. Joe works in tech and enjoys traveling, time with friends, and attempting to keep his yard from turning into an overgrown jungle.
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Lane Chasteen
Deacon
Lane Chasteen has been a dedicated member of Good Shepherd since its inception as a church plant from Redeemer, contributing actively to the men's ministry, the security team, and community groups. An Athens native, Lane enjoys spending his days with his beautiful "Viking warrior" wife, Janet, and their seven children: Jay, Aubrey, David, Elijah, Clairanna, Joshua, and Samuel.
Professionally, Lane works in IT as a software engineer, embracing his inner nerd with enthusiasm. Lane cherishes the time spent with fellow congregants and values Good Shepherd's strong sense of community.
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Tim Hulsey
Deacon
Tim grew up in Atlanta and Norcross, Ga. He married his high school sweetheart Amy. Tim graduated from Auburn University with a degree in Marketing. Tim has spent his career as a small business owner, and working in John Deere dealerships. Amy and Tim have two daughters Hannah (35) and Caroline (33). Tim loves to learn about gardening and real estate. He also loves people, and getting to know their stories.
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Joseph Pruitt
Deacon (On Sabbatical)
Joseph Pruitt is a deacon at Good Shepherd where he attends church with his wife Karla and daughter Lucie. He loves Jesus and is excited to see Him someday. When Joseph is not at church, he's probably walking his dog, George, or helping his wife get things down from high shelves.
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Patrick Sanders
Deacon (On Sabbatical)
Patrick has been at Good Shepherd since 2018. He was an RUF Intern after graduating from UGA in 2013 and taught Bible and Economics to High Schoolers before becoming an Account Manager for a software company in 2018. When he's not working, caring for his wife, Alyssa, and two boys, Caleb and Elijah, or being involved at the church, he's working on a Master's in Theological Studies from Reformed Theological Seminary in Atlanta, GA.
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Mike Waddell
Deacon
Mike and his wife, Dayna, and kids, Claire and Everett, started attending Good Shepherd soon after they moved to Athens in 2017. He has worked in the business world starting and growing companies for nearly 20 years. In his free time, he completed a Master of Arts in Religion from Reformed Theological Seminary in 2013. He and his family enjoy their silver lab, Lottie, and traveling - domestically in their camper, and abroad, whenever they can. He loves getting to know people and hearing their story. He spends his free time enjoying coffee with friends, reading, spending time outdoors, and rooting on Alabama football.
Ministry Leaders
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Joshua Bloodworth
Spiritual Formation Team Co-Leader
Josh is a physical therapist who lives in Athens with his beautiful wife, Anna, and their first born, Lyon. He has a desire for the people of Good Shepherd to know and seek the Lord, and is excited to serve the men of the church through prayer, discipleship, and ministry to reach that end. Josh hopes to see the church seek the lost and serve the needy in and around the city of Athens.
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Sidney Middlebrooks
Spiritual Formation Team Co-Leader
Sidney has been at Good Shepherd since her and her family moved back to Athens in 2020. She has a heart for building authentic and kind community and encouraging others to truly enjoy walking with the Lord. She stays home with her three children and in her spare time enjoys pottery, reading and getting to the North Georgia mountains whenever she can. Her most recommended books are Forgive by Tim Keller, Emotionally Healthy Spirituality by Peter Scazzero and Making All Things New by David Powlison. She loves grabbing coffee and meeting new people and would love to help you find your people at Good Shepherd.
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Chet Bennett
Youth Team Co-Leader
Chet is the Facilities Manager at Redeemer and he and his wife Savannah live in Nicholson. He loves to be outside and play pickleball. Chet is very excited to be apart of the youth team and to see what God is going to do at Good Shepherd through it!
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Lolo McCreary
Youth Team Co-Leader
Lolo is from Woodstock, GA and moved to Athens in 2021 to pursue a business degree from the University of Georgia. A few semesters in she decided that was completely not what she wanted to do and is now a religion major, and she plans on attending seminary and going into ministry after graduation. In her free time, she enjoys pretending she’s a comedian, thrifting, baking, music, reading, and spending time with her friends. She is so excited to be a part of the youth ministry at GSPC!
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Chloe Willis
Children’s Team Leader
Chloe Willis is from Acworth, GA and moved to Athens in 2021 to pursue her education at UGA where she met her amazing husband, Noah Willis. She graduated in 2024 with a master's in social work and has a passion for working with children. Good Shepherd has made such an impact in Chloe's life since moving to Athens and she cannot wait to continue ministering and serving the families of GSPC. Chloe enjoys running her small floral business on the side, hanging out with friends, and eating ice cream.
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Holli Ratcliffe
Outreach Team Leader
Holli is a native of Mississippi who studied marketing and psychology at the University of MS. After college, she worked in retail, owning her own candy and ice cream store on the Oxford square for 10 years! In 2018 Holli's family moved to Athens and in 2021 they became members of Good Shepherd. Holli enjoys family time (especially cooking & game nights), getting to know others, and exploring new places. One piece of scripture that has been meaningful to her is Hebrews 10:24; Let us consider how to stir one another to love and good works.
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Lauren Ackleh
Music Director
Born in Lawrenceville, GA, Lauren fell in love with Athens during her time at UGA. She graduated in 2024 with her degree in psychology and next is pursuing a master's degree in couple and family therapy. As a vocalist and songwriter with a deeply personal relationship to music, Lauren lights up when performing live and serenading her community with song, piano, and an Arabic lute.
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Ryan & Mallory Vangsnes
Communty Group Coordinators
Ryan and Mallory got married in 2011 and have been in Athens ever since. Ryan is currently working towards his MDiv and serves as the pastoral intern at Good Shepherd. Mallory works as a labor and delivery nurse at Piedmont. They have four wonderful boys: Ollie, Wilder, Davy, and George. They have been actively involved in Community Group ministry for the past 14 years—leading, hosting, attending, and overseeing. It is their joy to see the body of Christ connected to one another through God’s Word, week in and week out. If you are interested in community groups, we would love to get you connected!
Administration
These are the wizards behind the curtain, the maestros of the mundane, and the superheroes of the stapler. Together, they make sure everything runs like a well-oiled machine—and they do it all with a smile (and a cup of coffee or three).
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Katherine Hodges
Director of Operations
Katherine had the privilege of witnessing the birth of Good Shepherd as a church plant out of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in 2015, when Clay Werner began gathering members of Redeemer to cast the vision for a PCA church in Normaltown. Originally from Jackson, MS, she graduated with a fine arts degree from Mississippi State University, the other bulldogs! She moved to Athens in 2009 and has not looked back. Katherine is married to Mike Hodges, an elder of Good Shepherd, and they have three children, James, Emma, and Mary Lauren.
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Lolo McCreary
Communications Coordinator
Lolo is from Woodstock, GA and moved to Athens in 2021 to pursue a business degree from the University of Georgia. A few semesters in she decided that was completely not what she wanted to do and is now a religion major, and she plans on attending seminary and going into ministry after graduation. In her free time, she enjoys pretending she’s a comedian, thrifting, baking, music, reading, and spending time with her friends.
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Myles Magloire
Finance Administrator
Myles is a 10+ year Athens resident. He is married and a father. In his spare time he enjoys reading and drinking coffee.
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Clementine
Director of Dogma
Clementine has no bio or contact info, as she is a dog.