Ministers
Pastors’ Assistants
Executive Director
Administration
Adult Discipleship
Children’s Ministries
Business Office
Contemporary Worship
Creative Services
Evangelism & Hospitality
Facilities
Missions
Music
Preschool
Production
Sports & Recreation
Student Ministries
Women’s Ministry

 

Ministers

 

Dr. Bill Burch

Senior Pastor

 

 

 

Rev. Catherine Boothe

Associate Pastor

Rev. Catherine Boothe has been on staff at Northside Church since 2006, and was ordained a Deacon in the North Georgia Conference in 2010. She earned two associate’s degrees at Young Harris College before getting a B.S. in Education at Valdosta State University and a Master of Divinity degree from Emory University’s Candler School of Theology. Catherine was born in Terre Haute, Indiana, but grew up in Evans, Georgia. Her outside activities include BreakThru House (volunteer); Safe Sanctuary Trainer; as well as her book club and hot yoga classes. Catherine also has a cat, Atticus, who was found and rescued in the Northside Church building.

Dr. G. Gil Watson

Pastor Emeritus

Dr. G. Gil Watson served as Senior Pastor of Northside Church from 1994, until he retired in 2017. An Atlanta native, he began his higher education at nearby Oglethorpe University with a Bachelor of Arts in history and political science, followed by a Master of Divinity from Emory University’s Candler School of Theology and a Doctor of Ministry degree from McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago, Illinois. Gil was ordained an Elder in the North Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church in 1972. He and his wife Carol have three children and six grandchildren. Gil’s extracurricular activities demonstrate a passion for the history of the American South and also for storytelling. Many Atlantans over the years have seen him dress up as John Wesley to tell the history of Methodism or as Joel Chandler Harris to tell the old Uncle Remus folk tales.

 

Ph. 404.394.6480

Em: DrGilW@gmail.com

Pastors’ Assistants

Maggie Bridges

Executive Assistant to the Senior Pastor

 

Gayle Boland

Administrative Assistant to Dr. Brightwell McCord

Executive Director

Nick Houston

Executive Director

Nick Houston joined the Northside Staff in 2011 and became the Business Manager shortly thereafter. He grew up in Stockbridge, GA. He attended Kennesaw State University where he received his Bachelor of Business Administration, and his Master of Accounting. Nick is a Certified Public Accountant. He and his wife, Kate, have four children: Lily, Drake, Scarlett, and Flint. They live in Kennesaw, GA and worship at Acworth United Methodist Church.

Administration

Randy White

I.T. Director

Sheila Hanington

Executive Assistant to Executive Director and Business Manager

Trisha Kirsch

Administrative Assistant

Adult Discipleship

James Johnson

Director, Adult Discipleship

Growing up in Oklahoma, James felt a call to serve the church at a very young age, and has done so his entire adult life.  After graduating from Southern Nazarene University with a B.A. in theology, he attended seminary at Candler School of Theology at Emory University – and other than a few years in Oxford, MS working with students at Ole Miss, he has made Atlanta his home ever since.  Teaching the Bible and theology is his passion, and he loves nothing more than to share a cup of coffee and a conversation on matters of the faith.  His amazing wife, Candace Johnson, serves as Children’s Minister at another United Methodist congregation in the Atlanta Metro area, and they have recently welcomed a little bundle of joy – though perhaps not peace – into their family, their daughter Kifer.

Children’s Ministries

Brandi Diamond

Director of Children’s Ministries

Brandi has previously served Northside as the Preteen (4th & 5th Grade) Ministries Coordinator. Brandi is married to John, and they have two children. She possesses a Master of Divinity degree from McAfee School of Theology at Mercer University with an extensive history of working with children.

Estee Lassiter

Assistant Director of Children’s Ministries

Marie Smith

Weekdays Coordinator

Vickie Hall

Administrative Assistant

Nancy Jeanne Bateman

Sunday Support Specialist

Nissa White

Executive Assistant

 

 

Business Office

Steven Reed

Financial Assistant

Contemporary Worship

Matt Jackson

Director of Contemporary Worship

Matt grew up in Birmingham, Alabama and began playing music at the age of 10 years old. His father an evangelist, Matt would often travel to play drums or piano for tent revivals and church conferences. For over 15 years, Matt has led worship and shared stages with some of the biggest names in Christian music. Matt and his wife, Molly, are high school sweethearts who have spent more than half their lives together. They have fraternal twins, Skye and Sophia who are 8 years old, and Zoe who is 5 years old.

Creative Services

Elisabeth Shabi

Creative Director, Creative Services

Elisabeth grew up in Savannah and moved to the Atlanta area in 2009 to attend college. She graduated from Reinhardt University in 2013 with a Bachelor of Arts in Graphic Design. For three years, Elisabeth was a designer for a community-based organization in North Georgia where she developed a passion for non-profit design work. Elisabeth joined the staff in February of 2014 and is delighted to use her vision and talents to serve the communication needs of Northside.

Gaye Elam

Graphic Designer

Eric Nyantekyi

Web Developer

Michael Beasley

Graphic Designer

Joshua Renzi

Project Manager

Evangelism & Hospitality

Amelia Simmons

Director of Evangelism & Hospitality

Amelia was born and raised in Waycross, Georgia. After graduating from Ware Co. High School Amelia attended Wofford College in Spartanburg, South Carolina where she earned a BA in art history. Following a semester abroad in France, Amelia discovered her interest in creating art, not just reading about it. This desire led her to enroll at the University of Georgia where she earned a BFA in graphic design. Since graduation, she has worked as the Communications Director for Athens First United Methodist Church in Athens, Georgia and is now the Evangelism & Hospitality Director here at Northside.

Facilities

Tim Miltner

Director, Facilities

Tim Miltner has been a Northside Church member since 1990 and came on staff in 1997 as the Director of Maintenance. He came to Northside with the thought “that I can help “fix” things. Now years later, I see that the Lord brought me to Northside so that he could “fix” me!” Tim received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Georgia State University and is a member of the Church Facility Manager Association. He married his sweetheart Libby in 1990 and is blessed with two boys—Alex, who is at Georgia Tech and Luke, who attends Whitefield Academy. Tim enjoys most anything outdoors from Scouting, Fishing, Sporting Clays Shooting, and riding motorcycles. He coached baseball for years and now is just a baseball, soccer and football parent. He has been known to take on most any project and enjoys working with his mind and hands on items that produce tangible results!

Patrick Murphy

Facilities Coordinator

Missions

Lynette Brown

Director, Missions

Lynette has been a member of Northside Church since 2010. She has a heart for missions and served as a volunteer in Missions for many years before joining the Northside Church staff. She grew up in Tennessee, attended the University of South Carolina before marrying her husband Mark. They moved to California and Lynette graduated from California State, Long Beach with a degree in Chemical Engineering. She has lived in many area of the country and held a variety of jobs including engineer, business owner and teacher. Lynette and Mark have three grown children and four grandboys. Hobbies include gardening, DIY home improvement projects and travel.

Kacie Brown

Missions Assistant

Music

Michael Devine

Director of Music Ministries

Michael Devine comes to Northside Church from Chattanooga, Tennessee, where he has served as Director of Sanctuary Worship and Music at Lookout Mountain Presbyterian Church in addition to his responsibilities as Artistic Director of Choral Arts of Chattanooga. Prior to his appointments in Chattanooga, Michael worked in McLean, Virginia, outside Washington, D.C.

Michael completed his graduate education at Luther Seminary and St. Olaf College (MN). While there, he also assisted in conducting the Twin Cities based choral ensemble, Two Rivers Chorale. Michael completed his undergraduate work at the Wheaton College (IL) Conservatory of Music where he studied voice with Gerard Sundberg, a regular soloist with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra.

Michael’s musical career began as a member and soloist with the Vienna Boys’ Choir in Austria. Michael also performed as a boy soloist in the U.S. with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under Daniel Barenboim, the Chicago Opera Theatre, and the Elgin Symphony Orchestra.

Michael has continued singing and has performed in Bach’s Magnificat and St. John Passion, and as Colonel Calverly in Gilbert and Sullivan’s Patience. Michael has served as an adjudicator at music festivals and competitions, and does workshops with high school choral programs. A dedicated church musician, Michael has served in Presbyterian, Baptist, Episcopal, Methodist, Evangelical Free, and non-denominational settings.

 

Gwyn Bacon

Organist — Associate Director, Music Ministries & Worship Arts

Jeanette Simpson

Music Associate and Coordinator

Preschool

Nancy Sample

Director, Preschool

Nancy is a former NMPreschool teacher who taught here in the early 1990s as a music teacher and a teacher of twos. Nancy then left NMP to pursue her master’s degree in education, with an emphasis in Interrelated Special Education. She has taught at the Schenck School and most recently as a K-1 Learning Specialist at the Lovett School. She is a proud mother of two girls, Carter and Ann. Carter was married at Northside in 2010 and is an ICU nurse in Charlotte. Ann recently graduated from the University of Alabama and is working in Birmingham.

Jean Trammell

Assistant Director

Paige Hill

Business Manager

Production

Allen Morrison

Director, Production

Allen Morrison, an Atlanta native, has been part of the Northside staff since 2009. He has a B.S. degree in Science, Technology & Culture from Georgia Tech. Among Allen’s goals at Northside is to “make the encounter of worship a meaningful and potentially perspective-changing environment.” When not working, he enjoys being husband to Whitney and father to their young daughter, hiking and backpacking, drinking coffee (“only the good stuff!”), and “learning about our Creator and His desire for Relationship with me.”

Bethany Catlin

Production Assistant

Sports & Recreation

Kelley Stonis

Director, Sports & Recreation Ministries

Kelley Stonis was born and raised in Atlanta, just a few miles from our church. She joined the Northside staff in 1999, and became a church member in 2009. She graduated from Appalachian State University with a B.S. in Child Development and played four years of Division I-AA soccer. She and her husband, Kyle, have three daughters, Ava, Macie & Kayla. Kelley enjoys playing and coaching sports, running, photography, and spending time with family and friends.

Clayton Schmitt

Assistant Director, Soccer, Soccer Academy, Basketball

Jim Horesco

Sports Leagues & Summer Camp Coordinator

Debbie Jett

Sports Leagues & Financial Administrator

Edie Lvov

Programs & Office Manager

Mandy Bennett

Sports Leagues & Summer Camp Assistant

Wesley Lutz

Soccer Academy Coordinator

Student Ministries

Nate Juvinall

Director of Student Ministries

Nate has worked in youth ministry since 1996, previously at Northside from 2001 to 2010, then at Dalton First United Methodist Church. He is originally from Orlando, Florida and graduated from Asbury University in Kentucky. Nate married his wife Susan at Northside in 2005. They have two daughters, Katie (8) and Hope (3).

Leigh Ann Ayres

Administrative Assistant

Aaron Childree

Student Ministries Associate

Allison Peden

Student Ministries Associate

Women’s Ministry

Sue Allen

Director, Women’s Ministry

Sue Allen came to Northside in 2006 as Discipleship Coordinator in the Children’s Ministry; she has served as the Director of Women’s Ministry since 2008. Sue grew up in Berea, Ohio, before earning a B.A. in Psychology from the College of Wooster. She also has received an M.A. in Human Development & Family Relations and training as a Marriage & Family Therapist from the University of Connecticut. Sue and her husband Steve (Chaplain at The Lovett School) live with their four children and a small menagerie of pets. Sue loves leading Bible studies, journaling, writing devotionals, and spending time with family and friends.

Christa Groves

Program Coordinator