You know that group of people that you see when you get on an airplane? The bunch that is sitting in two to three rows and they are all laughing over the seats and talking to each other. Just when you were hoping for a quiet flight with no crying babies where you could just read your new book, you get seated near these guys. And the next thing you know, you are laughing right along with them and they have you joined in on the fun. Yes…that is very likely the Joy Church Staff right there on the plane with you. Not only do they love God and love people, they actually like each other and have a great time together serving the Lord! Come meet the members of our paid and volunteer staff through the bios below.
Pastor Jim & Anne Frease
Senior Pastor
Have you ever wondered if it’s okay to laugh in church? Then you will really like Pastor Jim! Pastor Jim Frease is the Founder and Senior Pastor of Joy Church, as well as Founder and President of World Changers Bible Institute (WCBI) in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee. He is the primary instructor at WCBI and has been ministering since 1984. Pastor Jim emphasizes a relationship with Jesus Christ, not religion; the Word of God, and not tradition; and he emphasizes enjoying your life, not enduring it. Pastor Jim always puts an emphasis on not just what you need to do, but how you need to do it. He is a very encouraging teacher who always leaves a light at the end of the tunnel…and it’s not an oncoming train!
Anne Frease is a graduate of Oral Roberts University and an anointed singer who has traveled with the Oral Roberts University Music Ministry teams. Anne has been ministering since 1990. She has ministered in song in churches all over the country and is presently the praise and worship leader at Joy Church.
Under the mandate of God, Pastor Jim and his wife Anne founded Joy Church in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee. They pioneered the church in October of 2003 with just 18 people without knowing even one person in the area. Joy Church has since become one of the fastest growing churches in the region with over 2200 in active membership. Hundreds are giving their lives to Jesus and even more lives and families are being transformed with joy!
Pastor Jim and Anne also founded World Changers Bible Institute (WCBI) in 1992, a Bible school for future leaders of all ages. WCBI is a bible school where dreams meet direction! Pastor Jim and Anne also have headed up “Joy To The World”, a short-term summer missions program in other countries. This ministry has emphasized evangelistic and discipleship opportunities for WCBI students as they have the opportunity to put classroom concepts into practical application (James 1:25). Countless lives have been affected for eternity via this powerful missions outreach (Matt. 24:14)!
Pastor Jim loves to share God’s Word through joy and encouragement and has also authored 11 books; Winning With Wisdom – Volumes 1-5, Enduring Life or Enjoying Life?, Pray The Word, Wisdom 365, and MENTOR – Years 1-3.
Most importantly, Pastor Jim and Anne are deeply in love with the Lord Jesus Christ and are completely committed to His Word. As they minister they desire to do so with lots of humor and joy (Neh. 8:10), and the utmost of integrity (Ps. 26:11), propelling the listener to a greater intimacy with Jesus and motivating them to accelerate in Christian service.
The Freases have been married since 1990 and deeply love their son Johnathan. Pastor Jim loves spending time with his family and truly enjoys Ohio State football, fishing, Ohio State Football, fishing, and Ohio State Football. Anne loves to shop…so, as Pastor Jim says, sometimes they compromise and shop at Bass Pro.
Pastor Dave & Paula Goldner
Executive Pastor
What do you get when two rivals meet? Why love of course! Just like Romeo and Juliet, this engineer from NC State University met the love of his life, but she was a UNC tarheel! Everyone in North Carolina knows you don’t mix no wolfpack with no tarheels, that just ain’t right. Well, over 30 years later, these two lovebirds are still together (and alive, unlike Romeo and Juliet) and serving God here in Mount Juliet, TN (which has absolutely no relationship to the previously mentioned Shakespeare play at all…and has no mountain either). Pastor Dave and Paula have truly enjoyed working together with the Freases in ministry since 1990. Pastor Dave Goldner is the Executive Pastor of Joy Church and an educator at World Changers Bible Institute. Pastor Dave is an engineering graduate and had the honor of joining this ministry full time in 1995 after a short but successful career with two Fortune 500 companies. They have 2 great kids, Stephen and Lauren.
Pastor Rob & Abby Simms
Youth Pastor
What does it take to be the Youth Pastor at Joy Church? A strong authentic relationship with God, a great sense of humor, an iPhone, the ninja-like ability to play any modern video game masterfully in less than 15 minutes, and a platinum level Starbucks My Rewards card. Pastor Rob (from Columbus, Ohio – the home of the NCAA champion Ohio State Buckeyes) likes his coffee black. His wonderful wife Abby? You can order her a tall 5-pump breve decaf hazelnut latte. Pastor Rob and Abby are parents to their wonderful children, Ava and Wesley, and are the youth pastors of our Real Joy middle school and high school youth ministry. They are both graduates of World Changers Bible Institute and have been actively involved with this ministry since 1996.
Pastor Ryan & Stephanie Benson
Children’s Pastor
Pastor Ryan hails from the metropolis of Rochester, NY while his wife, Stephanie was born and raised in Westerville, Ohio. In 2000 they said “I do” (to each other) and the rest is history! They have a sweet daughter named Zoe. If you ever need to put a fire out, Pastor Ryan is your man as he has years of experience as a volunteer fire-fighter. Pastor Ryan and Stephanie have previously been in full-time ministry roles since 2001 and moved all the way from New York just to be a part of Joy Church. Pastor Ryan and Stephanie are excited about changed lives and enjoying ministering to children as our Children’s Pastor.
Pastor James & Tarah Biddle
Community Outreach Pastor & College And Career Pastor
In Tennessee, there is a deep dedication to college sports. James and Tarah Biddle both grew up in East TN – the home of the Tennessee Vols. When you come to Joy Church, you may find Pastor James wearing some orange and white. Pastor James and Tarah head up our Community Outreach…a huge part of the vision here at Joy Church. You will find Pastor James and Tarah at our local Joy To Go events (where we bring in our 24-foot mobile kitchen and serve free meals), Landing events (where we open up our large community outreach center during events to play arcade games, pinball, and basketball), and on missions trips (overseeing our Joy To The World international missions trips). In addition, Pastor James and Tarah lead our Joyride college and career singles ministry. James and Tarah have six children and a lot of laughter in their home!
Pastor Erik & Mandy Garcia
Connection Pastor
Where can a former wild child from Los Angeles and a good girl from northeast Pennsylvania meet and fall in love? Middle Tennessee, of course. Erik Garcia brought his talents with him from California – which include but are not limited to acting, singing, playing instruments, and artistic design. After you see Pastor Erik on stage at Joy Church using his talents to praise God, or on screen in the fun and touching videos during services, you will find that he has a big heart and a huge desire to see people make connections and build relationships, a key success factor when you are the Connection Pastor leading all of our Joy Groups. Mandy has a wit and sense of humor that rivals the Three Stooges and has a passion to share laughter and God’s love. Garcia and Mandy have two silly kiddos of their own, Alma and Cole.
Pastor Jeremey & Ashley Merrill
Associate Pastor & Kairos Coffeehouse Director
Pastor Jeremey (Associate Pastor)and Ashley (Kairos Coffeehouse Director) are rare local area natives (we thought those didn’t exist?!) and high school sweethearts who graduated from Donelson Christian Academy in 2002 and got married in 2003. It has been a wild and fun adventure ever since! They spent their first few marriage years living in Turkey and then Iceland while Jeremey served in the United States Air Force. They landed back in the states in South Dakota where Jeremey eventually exited his military career in 2010 and began his first role in ministry as a youth pastor. Helping with a church plant brought them back home to Tennessee in 2012, where they served as multifunctional and bi-vocational pastors until God led them to Joy in 2017. They are passionate about Jesus, serving college students, entrepreneurship, business as ministry, adoption, and really good coffee! Their four incredible children, all within 5 years of each other, are Rosie, Grayden, Kwesi, and Aubrey.
Eric & Cassie Laidlaw
Creative Coordinator
Cassie started attending Joy Church when she was just 18 years old. Now, almost 2 decades later, she is a colorful addition to our staff as the Creative Coordinator. She met her husband Eric here at Joy on the worship team, and now these “praise team sweethearts” lead our youth praise and worship team and serve on our adult praise team as well. Cassie oversees our social media team, video announcements, and she assists in many other creative elements here at Joy. Eric and Cassie have two energetic kiddos – Analiese and Titus – and can often be seen rolling them around the building in a wagon they have dubbed “The Hummer”. While these two, at first glance, couldn’t seem more different, they both share a passion for Jesus and ministry that makes them a dynamic duo in every area they minister in together here at Joy.
Johnathan Frease
Videography / Media
Johnathan Frease is a wonderful team member on the Joy Church staff. John is actively pursuing growth in ministry through hands on servant leadership. You may have seen John on some of the fun children’s ministry videos as he brings many of the ministry lessons to life as a fun character named “Gen John”. John also uses his talents to edit many of the creative videos you get to see in children’s ministry, Joy Church and WCBI. John also enjoys playing basketball, riding electric scooters and hanging out with good friends.
Lauren Goldner
Ministry Assistant
Lauren Goldner is an enthusiastic and joyful member on the Joy Church staff. Lauren is actively pursuing growth in ministry through hands on servant leadership. Lauren is a student at Cumberland University and continues to actively serve God in many areas around Joy Church.
Keith & Twylla Foust
Volunteer Staff
These two met while working at a Red Lobster in NC while going to World Changers Bible Institute. Yes…the special ingredient in those Red Lobster cheese biscuits is love! This hostess-waiter combo team went on to serve up more than fried fish and buttery golden goodness as they graduated Bible school and became part of the joy team. Keith, a graduate from North Carolina State University (and a geek at heart) oversees a number of the technical departments of the church including the audio, visual, computers and web. They are both graduates of World Changers Bible Institute and have been actively involved with this ministry since 1995. Keith and Twylla have 3 beautiful daughters, Victoria, Alexandra and Kaitlyn.
Rhett & Susan Emerson
Volunteer Staff
Rhett and Susan Emerson’s mamas introduced them to each other at lunch one day… little did they know just what they started! Their friendship grew over the next couple of years, and they began dating in bible college. They graduated from Rhema in 2001 & 2002, and in 2003, they were married… The rest is Emerson history! Today, Rhett and Susan serve the young adults through our JoyRide College and Career group. You can also find them leading the Service Host team once a month, serving in Joy Church community outreaches, and anything else that might pop up here and there at Joy. Susan also helps to plan Women of Joy events, and adds so much to the team. They have two athletic boys, Will and Luke, who are being “trained up in the way they should go” in the things of God (Proverbs 22:6). Rhett and Susan are passionate about being a light in their community as well as their careers, and serving in the local church. They’ve attended Joy Church since 2018, and if you ask them, they will tell you the thing they love most about being connected at Joy Church is being part of this Joy Church family!
Tyler Holt
Volunteer Staff
Tyler Holt is a growing servant-leader here at Joy Church. Since he started coming in 2021, he quickly began to apply the amazing teaching he was receiving here, and it radically changed his life. He enjoys the outdoors and loves making dad jokes. (What kind of person was Boaz before got married? RUTHless! Get it??? Nevermind…) Standing at 6’7”, he’s hard to miss! You might see him driving the shuttle, ushing, getting things off of top shelves, or changing light bulbs (who needs a ladder? Am I right?!). Tyler is currently a student at Cumberland University and aspires to become a CPA. Tyler loves Jesus, loves Joy Church, and loves getting to make a difference here for the Lord!
TK & Juliana Vaughn
Volunteer Staff
These two were born and raised in middle Tennessee. TK started coming to Joy Church when he was in middle school. He began to hear about Jesus and the gospel for the first time and gave his life to the Lord. Years later he met his amazing goofy wife Juliana at a Joy Church young adults event and they were married in June of 2020. They now serve faithfully in Children’s Ministry together, Juliana sings on the Sounds of Joy team, and they serve and help in other ministry areas when needed. TK loves everything “coffee” and is always finding another way to make a better cup of joe, while Juliana could quote Finding Nemo all day.