DHBC Staff

James Lewis – Senior Pastor

James Lewis has served as Senior Pastor for the DeSoto Hills Family since 1998. His wife Kathy teaches at Pleasant Hill Elementary. They have two children. Their son Marc teaches at Olive Branch High School along with his wife Jennifer. Their daughter Jami is in medical school at the University of Mississippi Medical School in Jackson. James is a native of East Tennessee.

Mark Manning – Minister of Music

Mark has served as Minister of Music for this family since 2001. His wife Celeste teaches at DeSoto Central Elementary. They have two children – Lyle, a freshman at MSU and Calland, a junior at DeSoto Central High School. Bro. Mark is a native of the Mississippi Delta.

Grant Stegall – Discipleship Pastor

Grant Stegall joined the staff here at Desoto Hills as the Minister of Discipleship in November of 2007. He and his wife, Amber, were married in July 2002. They have two children, Eli, born November 2006, and Sam, born November 2008, and a daughter, Sarah Grace, due in January 2011. Grant is a native of Pontotoc County, MS.

Michael Bucy – Youth Pastor

Michael Bucy began serving at DeSoto Hills Baptist Church as the Minister to Student in January 2008.  He was married to his wife, Lindsay, only two weeks before his move to Southaven from Christiansburg, Virginia.  Go Hokies!

Tim Mudder – College and Career Pastor

Tim joined the staff of Desoto Hills as Minister to College and Career in September of 2007, but has been a member of the church since 2003. He is married to Amanda and has a 2 year old son named Micah. In addition to his responsibilities here, he is also employed full time as a missionary with the Network of International Christian Schools (NICS). Tim has lived in DeSoto County since 1991.

Marc Lewis – Ministry Assistant

Attending college in Hattiesburg, Marc obtained his bachelors degree in music education with an emphasis in percussion, drumming and a minor in piano performance. Marc is currently teaching high school at Olive Branch and runs the library. Olive Branch has a state of the art studio located on the school grounds, Marc produces a nine minute news program with a small staff of students that airs daily over local cable. At Desoto Hills Marc is an assistant with the Student Ministries, maintains much of the church’s technology and leads the Wednesday night H2O services as well as our Sunday Evening worship services. He and his wife Jennifer are expecting their first child in February 2011.

Jennifer Rushton – Music Associate

Jennifer has played keyboard for the DeSoto Hills family since 1994 and now also serves as music associate. She teaches private piano lessons and also plays for Desoto Family Theatre and other area productions. She is married to Lee and has two sons, Jason and Caleb.

Laura Montgomery – Preschool Director

Laura is a native of Anderson, Indiana and received her MRS degree in 1996 from Anderson University. After moving several times, Laura & Chad settled in the South with their 2 boys, Zac and Brett.  Laura officially became a staff member at DHBC in May 2009  and if you haven’t met her yet just stop by the preschool desk!

Laura Smitherman – Children’s Minister

Laura joined the staff at DeSoto Hills Baptist Church in June 2010. Her dream for the children’s ministry is that it “should be founded on the teaching of God’s Word while impacting children and their families with the gospel of Jesus Christ.” Originally from Hoover, AL, Laura loves all things Auburn football. She spends her free time with her puppy Oakley, reading, playing musical instruments, or hanging out with friends.

Julie