LEADERSHIP TEAM
Pastoral Transition
KEVIN CHEN
Chinese Pastor
Kevin is from the mainland of China, and he serves in the Mandarin-speaking Chinese ministry at Morningside Baptist Church as the Chinese Pastor.
Kevin worked in the educational field for four years in Beijing. He heard the gospel through foreign missionaries and was converted to Christ by the grace of God.
Prior to coming to Morningside, Kevin served in a home church in Beijing as a treasurer and Sunday school teacher. He and his wife, Andrea, have two daughters, Jillian and Evelyn.
LARA CROPSEY
Children’s Ministries Director
Growing up in Iowa, Lara was first exposed to the Gospel through the bus ministry of a local church. Her father came to Christ as a result of faithful deacons visiting their home. By the grace of God and through the consistent teaching of Christian school teachers, loving Christian parents, and kids’ ministry volunteers, Lara came to Christ at the age of 13 and was later baptized at 18.
She began serving in kids’ ministry as a teenager in various ways, but primarily volunteered in urban bus ministry. She earned a degree in Elementary Education. After college, she married Andrew who had also been serving in children’s ministry as a teenager. They have been serving together in children’s ministry since they were newlyweds. The Lord has allowed Lara to teach in numerous settings including a distance learning classroom, homeschool co-ops, college adjunct, and the homeschool classroom.
The Lord has blessed Lara and Andrew with seven children, Seth, Asa, Isaac, Elijah, Kate, Noah, and Lindsay. In her free time, Lara enjoys making memories with her family through hiking, traveling, and reading books together. Lara is passionate about communicating truth to the next generation and impacting families with the Gospel, claiming Ephesians 2:8-10.
GABRIEL FLORES
Spanish Pastor
Gabriel Flores serves as an assistant pastor with the Spanish-speaking ministry at Morningside. He and his wife Raquel both grew up in Mexico and now reside in Taylors, SC.
Pastor Gabriel is a dedicated student of God’s Word. In 2024, he completed his academic work and doctoral dissertation to earn a PhD in Theological Studies with a concentration in New Testament.
Gabriel has been a member of Morningside since 2011 and has been on pastoral staff since 2018. Gabriel and Rachel have been blessed with two daughters and a son (new family picture coming soon!).
JOE HENSON
Missions Pastor
Joe grew up in a pastor's home on the island of Guam, in the south Pacific. It was during his college years—while working at The Wilds of NC—that he trusted Jesus Christ as his Savior and met his wife, Kristi. Over the years, Pastor Joe and Kristi have served the Lord together in camp ministry, Christian education, itinerant evangelism, and pastoral ministry.
Early in 2023, the Lord directed Joe, Kristi, and their three daughters back to the Greenville area where Joe now serves as the Chief Relations Officer for Bob Jones University. Though they moved to town to work at BJU, their heart is most burdened for and anchored to the work that God is doing in the world through His church.
Joe is also a hymnwriter. You can find some of his hymns and articles at DeclaringGlory.com.
JOYCE HOFFMAN
Financial Administrator
Joyce was born and raised in Pittsburgh, PA. She was raised in a loving, Christian family. She was saved at the age of six. After graduating from High School, Joyce came to Greenville to attend Bob Jones University, majoring in Business Administration.
Joyce has 40 years of business experience. For 25 years she worked for Greenville County in their Finance department, where she performed a wide range of accounting roles. Joyce retired from the county in 2022 to provide full-time care for her mother, who was battling dementia.
Joyce’s daughter, son-in-law, and son live in Greenville and are active members of Morningside. She enjoys football and is an avid Steelers fan. She loves to sing and enjoys being a part of the choir at Morningside. She is excited and thankful to use the skills the Lord has given her to serve at Morningside as Finance Administrator.
STEVEN HUFFMAN
Outreach Pastor
Steven had the privilege of growing up in Georgia in a pastor’s home, and came to Christ at an early age. While attending Morningside as a student, he met Ranya Carrier (Morningside’s music pastor’s daughter), and his interest in her led him to join Morningside in 1992. He taught the college Sunday School class while he was working on a master’s degree. When he finished the degree in 1993, he married Ranya and was ordained to the gospel ministry.
Immediately after his honeymoon, Steven came on staff as the Assistant Pastor at Morningside in 1993 and later transitioned to the role of Outreach Pastor. During his tenure at Morningside, he completed a Doctor of Pastoral Theology degree. He desires to faithfully serve the Lord and the people of Morningside as he seeks to evangelize the lost, edify the believer, equip Christians to do the work of the ministry, and exalt Jesus Christ.
At Morningside Steven's ministry focus is on community outreach, administration, and member care.
Steven and Ranya are blessed with three adult children: Ashlyn (married to Stuart Michaud), Austin, and Autumn.
TODD JONES
Assistant Pastor
Todd is thankful to have grown up in a home that was both full of music and committed to ministry.
Saved at an early age, Todd met his wife Lorna in college. Todd and Lorna have been blessed with three daughters and a son: Evelyn, Colleen, Audrey, and Phillip.
Todd joined the Morningside pastoral staff in 2017 after serving at churches in Tennessee and Kentucky. He is best known for his music ministry, but he also considers it a privilege to facilitate and assist in many other ministries around the church.
Todd has also served as a music instructor at the University of Kentucky, Bob Jones University, Greenville Technical College, and International Baptist College (Chandler, AZ).
KARIS MORGAN
Orchestra Director
Karis Morgan grew up in rural Illinois. Being the daughter of a pastor, she had many opportunities to serve in her church in Shannon, Illinois. In high school she ministered through playing horn in orchestra, singing in choir, and congregational piano playing.
In December of 2019 Karis graduated with a degree in Music Education. During college she had the opportunity to travel on weekends and provide music to churches with the university president. Currently, Karis works as a middle school band director in a Greenville County School. Karis and her husband, Alan, met in the Pursue class and were married at Morningside in July of 2021.
Karis enjoys spending time with friends and family, playing games, and eating food.
MANUEL MENDOZA
Spanish Pastor
Manuel Mendoza is a native of Phoenix, Arizona. He was saved by grace at a later age in life and, within a few months of being called into the body of Christ, desired to formally study the Word that transformed his life, with a goal of teaching it to others. He was led to study at a Christian university, where he met his wife-to-be. Manuel and Mary were married in 2001, the same year they helped to start a Spanish-speaking ministry in Greer, SC.
He was then voted in as pastor of that ministry in 2003, the same year he finished his master’s degree in Bible. He continued on to finish his Master of Divinity degree in 2005.
Through God’s leading, he was called to shepherd the Spanish-speaking flock at Morningside in 2016. Pastor Mendoza’s desire is to shepherd the congregation that God has placed before him through practical Bible teaching as well as reach the Hispanic community and beyond in the city where God has called him.
Manuel currently serves as bi-vocational pastor. His wife, Mary, was born and raised in Jerusalem, Israel, which has allowed Manuel to be involved in leading several tours to the Holy Land.
Manuel’s ministry starts at home, with his wife Mary and their three girls: Victoria, Lynda, and Ana.
TONY MILLER
Interim Pastor
Dr. Tony Miller and his wife Jeanette, have three children, Marjeana Bednarski, Michael and Matthew and eight grandchildren.
Dr. Miller served as interim pastor of Morningside from June to August 2004 and as senior pastor from August 15, 2004 to June 30, 2015. He is serving as interim pastor again under our interim leadership plan.
He and Mrs. Miller continue to serve actively as members at Morningside. Pastor Miller serves in counseling and preaching ministry, as well as teaching an adult Sunday School class. Mrs. Miller serves in the music ministry and has led the women’s Bible study.
Dr. Miller enjoys hunting and outdoor sports. He and Jeanette keep up with a huge garden on their five-acre property.
JERIEL ONTOY
Associate Pastor
Jeriel was raised in a Christian home where he believed the gospel and fell in love with church music. He served in his local church by accompanying congregational singing, conducting choirs, and organizing music rehearsals. Jeriel views these early years as the foundation for his current ministry.
In 2020, Jeriel married his wife Carmel and joined our part-time staff as choir director. After earning an MA in Biblical Studies, Jeriel joined our full-time staff as an associate pastor in May of 2022 where he serves in our music and administration ministries.
DAVE SMITH
Open Door Baptist Missions Director
Dave had the privilege of growing up in Papua New Guinea as an MK (missionary kid) from the age of three. He trusted Jesus Christ as his personal Savior when he was five, and as a teenager he taught Bible to the village children on a regular basis. Proverbs 3:5–6 became his life verses after his mother was killed in a tragic car accident in New Guinea during his senior year of high school. God used his dad’s testimony during that difficult time to reaffirm Dave’s burden for missions.
Dave graduated from Pensacola Christian College. He and his, wife, Shawn, returned to Papua New Guinea in 2000 to serve as missionaries in the remote tribal area of Simbai. Their family loved the people and the privilege to share the Gospel and to partner with them to plant remote village churches. A highlight of their ministry was assisting the churches to establish their own mission agency, the Open Door Baptist Mission of Papua New Guinea.
In 2010, God led their family to return to the United States, and Dave served as the Assistant Director before becoming the Director of Open Door Baptist Missions in 2012. Dave has a PhD in Missiology. He and his wife have three daughters: Abby, Sydney, and Hayley.
TOM STUHL
Executive Pastor
Tom is originally from Philadelphia and earned his master’s degree in Biblical Studies. He and his wife Jenn married in 1990 and have been blessed with five children Rocco, Cienna, Sarah (and husband Sam), Hannah, and Mary.
Tom retired from the US Air Force with over 21 years of service as an administrative and program management executive and earned PM certifications.
Tom trusted Jesus Christ as his savior at 25 years old. His desire is to bring glory to God through sharing the Gospel and making disciples. Under our interim leadership plan, he is managing our day-to-day operations. His life verse is 2 Cor. 5:17 “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away, behold, all things are become new.”
In his free time, he enjoys sports and spending time with his family.
JEFF WEBB
Student Pastor
Jeff is a native of Greenville, South Carolina. He came to Christ at the Wilds Christian Camp in North Carolina at the age of 13. During a missions conference at Morningside while in high school, Jeff felt God's call to the ministry. In the summer of 1993, he served as a counselor at the Wilds. After completing an undergraduate degree, he began his ministry as Student Pastor at Morningside. He met his wife, Bethany, in the youth group at Morningside, and they have three daughters: Jenna, Jada, and Jillian.
Jeff also serves the men and women of the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office as a chaplain and reserve deputy.
His burden for young people is grounded in Romans 12:1–2, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be you transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”
It is his desire at Morningside Baptist Church to guide the students in full surrender to the Lord’s claim upon their lives so that they may obey Him in accomplishing His will.
