Carrie Dickerson is the children’s minister at First Baptist Madison. She first began ministering here in September 2007 after having been a member for 15 years. She was officially called in April 2008. She is married to Russ Dickerson and has 3 children: Joey, Bonnie, and Jay. She loves caring for and teaching children. Children bring a fresh and exciting point of view to the studying of God’s Word. Carrie believes that active worship, Bible study, missions, and fellowship are beneficial for those of all ages in gaining an understanding of who God is, what He says in His Bible, and what His plan is. Her goal is to provide opportunities for these experiences for all children.

Mark Gessner was raised in Part St. Lucie, Florida and grew up attending First Baptist Church of Ft. Pierce. While attending The University of Florida, Mark was active at the Baptist Campus Ministry and served two different summers as a student missionary (in Key West in 1979 and in Singapore in 1980). Mark graduated from The University of Florida in 1982 with a degree in Music Performance (French Horn) and continued his education at Southern Seminary where he received a Master’s of Church Music degree in 1986. During his time in seminary he served First Southern Baptist Church in Clarksville, IN. In 1987 Mark was hired by First Baptist Madison as the Minister of Music. Mark has played Fourth Horn in the Huntsville Symphony Orchestra for twenty years, has taught private French horn lessons to many students in the Madison City School System, and has directed such musical works with our youth choir as Godspell, and Joseph And The Coat of Many Colors.

Rev. Mary Jo Gessner was born and raised in Miami, Florida and received a Bachelor of Music Education degree from the University of Florida in 1982. She continued her education in Louisville, KY and served Borden Community Church in Borden, IN while working toward her Master of Divinity degree which she received in 1986 from Southern Seminary. Rev. Gessner came to First Baptist Madison in 1987 as Minister of Youth. She was licensed to the Gospel Ministry by First Baptist Madison in 1990 and was ordained to the Gospel Ministry by First Baptist Madison in 2007. She was employed by The Vine Pastoral Counseling Center from 2001 until 2005 as a Pastoral Counselor in Training, and has completed her requirements awaiting accreditation by the American Association of Pastoral Counselors. After serving First Baptist Madison as Minister of Youth for 21 years, Rev. Gessner began serving our congregation as Minister of Pastoral Care in July of 2008. She and her husband, Mark Gessner, have a daughter and a son, Jessye and Harris, both students at Auburn University.

Thomas grew up in Greenville, MS. His academic degrees include a Bachelor of Arts from Mississippi College and a Master of Divinity and a Doctor of Ministry from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. In addition to pastoring Baptist churches for more than 50 years, he also taught sociology for three years at the University of Kentucky, Paducah Campus. He is married to Faye Carnes Walker who was a public school teacher for thirty years. Thomas is semi-retired and has been on the staff of First Baptist Madison since 2001.

Diana White is a 2008 graduate of McAfee School of Theology in Atlanta where she received her Masters of Divinity. She is also a 2005 graduate of Samford University with a BA in Interior Design and Art. Diana is a 2001 graduate of Bob Jones High School. She previously served on the ministerial staffs at Vineville Baptist Church in Macon, GA as well as the First Baptist Church of Griffin, GA. She worked with PASSPORT Youth Mission Camp in the summers of 2003 and 2004 as videographer and Bible Study/Mission Leader respectively. She lives in Madison with her husband Brian. They have no children or pets, just lots of text messages from teenagers and dirty dishes which keep them plenty busy for now.