Staff Members
Welcome to the Church at Wieuca!
Get to know the wonderful staff that make up Church at Wieuca, Camp Wieuca, and Wieuca Day School.
*Staff are listed in alphabetical order by last name.
Ministerial Staff:

Email: RCobb@wieuca.org

Angie Durden joined the Church at Wieuca staff as the Minister of Children and Families in September 2015. While serving at Wieuca, she realized a need to reach out to ladies in our church and community. She now leads a Ladies’ Ministry team called Blooming at Wieuca! Angie previously served in various preschool/children and women’s ministry positions throughout Georgia, Virginia, Oklahoma, and Texas. She is a native Texan and graduated from Texas Tech University and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. She is passionate about helping children learn about Jesus while developing a loving and safe place for children to learn through play, games, arts, visual images. Angie and her husband Glenn have two children, West and Jewels. During her free time, she enjoys spending time with her family, walking, and exploring new antique stores. Her favorite scripture is Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
Email: ADurden@Wieuca.org
Ashley Guthas joined the Church at Wieuca staff as the Youth Ministry Intern in September 2021. Ashley is a graduate of the State University of West Georgia with a bachelor’s degree in Spanish. Currently, she is a Glen Harold Stassen Fellow in the MDiv program at McAfee School of Theology. Since 2001, she has consistently lived out her calling to serve pre-teens and young adults within the walls of the church and beyond. She is passionate about cultivating an atmosphere where all embrace their worth in Christ and discipling students to live out 1 Timothy 4:12. One of her greatest joys in student ministry is being an ongoing part of individual lives even as their student ministry days are far behind them. Ashley and her husband Matthew reside in Powder Springs, GA and are the proud parents of two exuberant daughters, Jersi and Shiloh. They have one chubby guinea pig named Bugsy and a Border Collie named Maira Savage Guthas.
Email: AGuthas@wieuca.org
Dr. Barry Howard joined the Church at Wieuca staff as the Lead Pastor in December 2019. Dr. Barry Howard's pastoral objective is to encourage and equip Church at Wieuca with innovative and healthy practices that lead to effective ministry in the Buckhead/Atlanta area.
Originally from Anniston, Alabama, Barry has served churches in Alabama, Kentucky, Florida, and Georgia. He completed his undergraduate studies at Jacksonville State University, then received a Master of Divinity in 1991 from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and earned a Doctorate of Ministry in 1998 from Columbia Seminary. Barry most recently served as the Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church in Pensacola, FL from 2005-2017. In recent years, he has served with the Center for Healthy Churches as a leadership coach and columnist. He and his wife Amanda live in nearby Brookhaven. His interests include golf, travel, and writing. His columns are frequently featured in Good Faith Media, Church Leadership, Baptist News Global, and Nurturing Faith magazine. His favorite Bible verse is Galatians 6:9: "And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up."
You can check out his blog and follow him on Twitter at @barrysnotes.
Email: BHoward@wieuca.org
Email: JMills@wieuca.org
Rev. Joshua Speight joined the Church at Wieuca staff as the Associate Pastor in February 2021. Josh previously served for over twelve years in denominational work for CBF in Kentucky and for CBF Global by serving congregations and ministers in missions and leadership development. He has a love for mentoring and walking alongside young ministers. Josh has also pastored congregations in Texas, Virginia, and Kentucky. Josh received his Master of Divinity (Theology) from Truett Theological Seminary at Baylor University in Waco, Texas and a Bachelor of Science (Chemistry) from Georgetown College in Georgetown, Kentucky. He is married to Rev. Rebecca (Becky) Caswell-Speight who serves as Associate Pastor at Smoke Rise Baptist Church in Stone Mountain, Georgia. Together they manage the extensive social calendar for their daughter’s Ainsley and Evelyn as well as their pets: Toby, Charlie, and Billie. Josh and Becky have been a ministry team since 1999. Josh is a native Texan who cheers passionately for the Dallas Cowboys as well as the Baylor Bears, the Louisville Cardinals, and the Atlanta Braves. He loves to go to concerts, travel with his family, and enjoy a quiet day at home with his family.
Email: JSpeight@wieuca.org
Dr. Mark Wilbanks previously served as Wieuca’s fifth senior pastor beginning in February of 2012. Mark’s father, Oliver Wilbanks, was the Associate Pastor for Church at Wieuca from 1966 to 1982. Wieuca has had a tremendous influence in shaping Mark’s call to ministry during his teenage and young adult years. A graduate of both Southern and New Orleans Baptist Theological seminaries, Mark has served churches in Kentucky, Florida, and Georgia. He previously pastored Southside Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Florida for 17 years and Bradfordville First Baptist Church in Tallahassee, Florida for ten years. He and his wife, Kim, were married in 1979 and have two sons, Andy and Jordan. Andy is married to Lindsay and they have three beautiful children: Cade, Ruthie, and Samuel.
Support Staff:

Email: RCrews@wieuca.org
David Huff joined the Church at Wieuca staff as the Financial Manager in May 2021. He is a graduate of the University of West Florida, and is both a CPA and an Ordained Minister. In those roles he serves many individual, business and nonprofit clients through his CPA practice, and also has a broad ministry background as a pianist, worship leader, minister of music, and executive pastor. He is married to his high school sweetheart June, and they have four children and (so far) ten grandchildren. David enjoys opportunities to teach and speak, and is an avid reader and runner.
Email: DHuff@wieuca.org
Email: KHutchens@wieuca.org
Oliver Jackson joined the Church at Wieuca staff as the Director of Facilities in September 2019. Oliver previously working for the City of Refuge, where he served as the Facilities Director. Oliver has a variety of experiences that include culinary, administrative assistance, as well as facilities and maintenance management. He was born and raised in Atlanta, GA and is 1 of 13 kids. Oliver met his beautiful bride, April, in 5th grade and they used to walk to school together. Oliver's family resides in Douglasville, GA with their four beautiful kids: Sierra Grace, Samiya Faith, Oliver Jackson Jr., and Serenity Hope. In Oliver's free time he loves to read, hangout with his family, and watch the Georgia Bulldogs. Oliver's favorite bible passage is the "The Parable of the Lost Sheep" (Luke 15:1-7)
Email: OJackson@wieuca.org
Pam Jernigan joined the Church at Wieuca staff as the Administrative Assistant to Pastor in September 1998. Her duties include assisting the Pastor as well as the other Ministers on staff, overseeing any calendar items, handling membership details, and the @Wieuca Newsletter. She semi-retired in February 2022 and currently works part-time. Pam and her husband, Ken, joined Wieuca in 1986 and raised three children in the church. One of her favorite Bible verses is Psalm 118:24: "This is the day which the LORD has made; Let us rejoice and be glad in it."
Email: PJernigan@wieuca.org
Barbara Padgett joined the Church at Wieuca staff as the Office Administrative Assistant in February 2022. Barbara moved from Jacksonville, Florida, to Atlanta in 2010. She has worked as an office administrative assistant for more than fifteen years. She works hard to help the various ministry areas of Wieuca in their administrative needs such as worship guides, attendance records, curriculum preparation, and more. She is a flautist and was previously a part of the music ministry at First Baptist Atlanta, where she is currently a member.
Email: BPadgett@wieuca.org

Email: DPicard@wieuca.org
Betsy Sims joined the Church at Wieuca staff as the Finance Assistant in February 2022. Betsy graduated from Auburn University with a major in Accounting. Having graduated from Walton High School in East Cobb she knew she would return to Atlanta to start her adult life. She was an active member of Church at Wieuca in the Youth group during high school and then the Singles group when returning from college. After a 20-year career with Coca-Cola in Corporate Finance focusing on support of Accounting and Financial Reporting software, she said goodbye to the full-time corporate world. She is excited to now focus on work that provides inspiring relationships in her life within an organization whose mission is the spiritual growth and well-being of the community. As a resident of Buckhead, she knows that only God could have created this opportunity merging her years of training with work for an organization that is an integral part of her history – and just happens to be .5 mile from home! In her free time, she loves to travel, enjoys volunteering at her home church Dunwoody Baptist Church, and is an avid college football fan, eagerly anticipating the next season.
Email: BSims@wieuca.org

After School and Summer Camp Programs
Email: JMills@wieuca.org
Email: camp@wieuca.org
Email: RCrews@wieuca.org

Email: JVlahos@Wieuca.org
Deidre Simmons joined the Wieuca Day School staff as the Assistant Director/Logistics in October 2018. Deidre is a proud graduate of Tuskegee University and has a degree in Social Work. Prior to coming to Wieuca, she worked as a Preschool Teacher and an After School teacher. Deidre enjoys working with children of all ages. Before becoming a teacher, she was a juvenile probation officer with the State of Georgia for several years. During her time as a probation officer, she became the first school-based officer in Athens-Clark County and started a prevention initiative. In Deidre's free time, she enjoys being a mentor, dancing, playing sports, skating, and spending time with her family and friends.
Email: DSimmons@wieuca.org
Maria Zepeda joined the Wieuca Day School staff as the Director Assistant/Curriculum Specialist in 2020. Previously she had worked as the 3-year-old teacher in the Day School's preschool program starting in 2006 and then taught Pre-K in 2014. Maria is originally from Mexico City, Mexico. She grew up in Poughkeepsie, New York, and in Toronto, Canada. She has a BS in International Relations and is a certified ESL (English as a Second Language) teacher for children and adults. Maria has worked with children and families for more than 20 years as both a teacher and an English Coordinator in Mexico City, and Guadalajara in Mexico. She started her teaching career as an elementary school teacher and found her passion as an Early Childhood teacher working for the American School Foundation of Guadalajara, Mexico.
Email: MZepeda@wieuca.org