Leadership

Dean Ropp has been the pastor of Midway Community Church since 1997. Members and visitors alike are blessed by his weekly worship messages, which are carefully grounded in scripture and informed by years of study and experience. His joy in presenting the gospel each week is evident in both his words and his easy, sincere smile. Dean and his wife Cherie have been married since 1981, and they are the proud parents of three children: William, Rebekah, and Samuel.

Prior to leading Midway, Dean was associate pastor of Atlanta’s Mount Vernon Baptist Church for three years, beginning in 1994. He previously served as the director of Student Life at Bryan College in Dayton, Tenn., from 1990 to 1994. In the second half of the 1980s, Dean was state director of Georgia Fellowship of Christian Athletes for four years, and he began his career as youth pastor of the First Baptist Church in Libertyville, Ill., where he served from 1981 to 1986.

Dean earned his Master of Divinity degree from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in 1985. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in history and Greek from Bryan College, where he graduated in 1981.

David was raised in Portsmouth, VA where his family were members of Western Branch Baptist Church. He accepted Jesus as his personal Savior and was baptized at the early age of eight years old.

He graduated from Chowan Baptist University and Attended New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. While on staff at the North American Mission Board (NAMB), David served at various church plants by leading worship and building entire worship programs.

He met his wife, Destinee Glenn, at one of those church plants and they married in October of 2008. They have three children: Michaela Grace (9), Leah Noel (5) and Levi David (3).

David has served as worship pastor at churches throughout the southeast for fifteen years while simultaneously carving out a solo ministry that’s since found him leading worship throughout the country and abroad (including an opening slot on NewSong’s annual Christmas tour).

He is also a published CCLI songwriter with many churches singing his songs weekly.

We are deeply saddened to share that Drew has passed away after a brief illness. We are grateful for the time he spent with us and trust that the Lord will use his ministry to bear eternal fruit through the lives he touched.

[Meet Drew, the newest member of Midway Community Church in Alpharetta! Although he's new to our church, Drew is no stranger to Georgia. He grew up in the metro Atlanta area and has served in churches and ministries in Florida, Georgia, and Tennessee. Drew is passionate about serving families and providing them with resources and support to navigate life together.

Drew graduated from the University of Georgia with a BA in Communications. He then attended New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, where he earned his Master of Divinity in Church Growth. Throughout his career, Drew has held various staff positions at local churches, including serving as a church planter for a season. He most recently spent the last decade at Lifeway Christian Resources in Nashville, TN, as the Director of Live Digital Events.

Drew has been married to his wife Stephanie for 27 years, and together they have three children: Joshua, Lara, and Caleb. In their free time, Drew and Stephanie enjoy camping, hiking, and spending quality time with their family and two dogs. Drew is also an avid UGA football fan and loves to bark along with his family during games.]

Marc is a lifelong learner who loves Jesus, students, music, and coffee. He graduated from Kennesaw State University with a B.A. in Business Management and received his Master of Divinity degree from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.

After his undergraduate work, Marc lived in Mexico City for two years planting churches through the Journeryman program of the International Mission Board. It’s there he met his wife, Kristen, who was also serving as a missionary. At Midway, Marc is committed to helping people catch a glimpse of the beauty and satisfaction of a relationship with God through faith in Christ, whether in the local Church or on the mission field.

Karen Douglas has been serving as the office administrator of Midway Community Church since 2016. As a child, Karen observed her mother serving as their church administrator and took note of what a great way it allowed her to serve the Lord.

Karen was born and raised in Texas and found her faith in Christ at the age of 6. She is a graduate of Texas A&M University where she was active with Campus Crusade for Christ. She and her husband John married in 1997 and are the proud parents of Carolyn, Jessica, Luke and Emily. Prior to moving to Georgia, they lived in Richardson, Texas and attended Prestonwood Baptist Church and then Trinity Fellowship Church. When John’s job moved them to Georgia in 2007, they quickly found and began attending Midway Community Church. When not working at Midway, you might find Karen carpooling, attending a children’s activity or reading a good book.

Laura, her husband John, and their two daughters Emily and Sarah have attended Midway Community Church since 2006. During that time she has served in various areas of Children’s Ministry including Vacation Bible School, Awana, Children’s Sunday School and ministry leadership. In 2015 Laura joined the church staff as Financial Assistant. She has a degree from Georgia Tech in Industrial Management and Accounting and worked for over 13 years in Corporate Accounting and IT. Laura is also a trained volunteer with Georgia Baptist Disaster Relief. Her other interests include traveling with her family, working on craft projects and reading.