Meet Our Staff

Bio

Julie holds a law degree from the University of Tennessee, and her undergraduate degree includes a double major in political science and speech & theater. Her husband Steve is an independent financial planner and works part-time as a teacher for Concord Christian School High School. Their three kids—Leslie (10^th grade), Josh (8^th grade), and Hope (4^th grade)—attend CCS, and Julie is happy that she gets to see them on campus throughout the day! She loves serving and being around the staff and members at FBC because they are sweet, fun, Godly people.

Julie has been part of Precepts Bible Studies for 10 years. Her other interests include music: flute, piccolo, and she has recently taken up penny whistles! She also loves acting and helps out occasionally in the 4Kids Theater on Sunday mornings, and in the ConcordQuest production each year.

One of Julie’s greatest passions is the Concord Performing Arts Academy, which provides music, dance, and drama lessons in a Christian atmosphere. Julie and her husband Steve serve as the directors of CPAA.

Bio

Dr. John Avant, Senior Pastor of First Baptist Concord, is committed to communicating God’s Word so that others may experience how to live REAL life in Christ in today’s culture. His heart is to equip the church to lead out in seven spheres of influence: education; business, science and technology; media and communication; entertainment, arts and recreation; lonely and disadvantaged; government; and family.

John was born in St. Louis, Missouri, but grew up in the mountains of North Carolina. He became a follower of Christ at the age of 16. He earned his undergraduate degree from Baylor University and earned his M.Div. and Ph.D. from Southwestern Seminary. It was while he was earning his Ph.D. at Southwestern that he learned about spiritual awakening and revival. He has a deep love and compassion for people and believes that the only hope for our nation is to experience a mighty movement of God.

John and his wife, Donna, fell in love on the campus of Baylor University and married in 1980. They have three adult children and three grandchildren. Christi is married to Matt Watson and they reside in Knoxville with their son, William. Amy is married to Joseph Daniel and they also reside in Knoxville with their daughters, Addy and Aubrey. Their son, Trey is married to Brooke Procell and they reside in Houston, Texas.

John has pastored churches in Texas, Georgia and Louisiana. He was also the Vice President of Evangelism and Spiritual Awakening at the North American Mission Board. He and Donna moved to Knoxville, Tennessee in 2013 to join the family at First Concord. John has authored four books: The Passion Promise, Authentic Power, If God Were Real and most recently he co-authored Revival Revived.

On his day off you might find him hiking the mountain with Donna, scuba diving or playing golf. At night you will always find him with a book in his hand and a diet Mountain Dew next to his chair.

Bio

Amy enjoys getting to work with all of the various ministries of the church. She and her husband Mike have twins, and their favorite pet is their pug, Pugslee.

Amy has lived in Knoxville all her life and is a graduate of Halls High School. She also attended Cumberland College. In her spare time she enjoys reading, photography, and cooking.

Bio

Malinda earned her BS degree in Business Administration from the University of Tennessee.  She is married to Sam and they have two sons.  After a 25-year career with IBM, Malinda has served on the FBC Staff since 1992.  She considers her calling here to be very important and has  been thoroughly blessed through working with the people of the church while serving with many different teams.
 
Malinda and Sam are long-time members of FBC and delight in seeing their eight grandchildren being brought up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.