St. Luke's Pastors

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View all Staff by: Ministry | First Name | Last Name | Job Title

Dr. William S. Barnes, Lead Pastor

Bill has been the senior pastor of St. Luke's since June 1992. Since that time St. Luke's has grown to be one of the largest congregations in the denomination, but the most important growth has come in the areas of spiritual maturity and committed discipleship. Bill's vision of a church that is "Building the Kingdom by Building Disciples" while welcoming all with God's love, hope, and healing makes St. Luke's one of the most dynamic, dedicated, and distinctive churches in Central Florida.

A graduate of Emory University, with degrees in Business Administration and Theology, Bill has been a minister in the Florida Conference of The United Methodist Church since 1974, having served in rural, urban, and suburban churches, as well as the Chaplain of Florida Southern College. He was a 2002 recipient of the Jefferson Award for American Public Service. Bill is married to Kim, and has two adult daughters, Kristin and Meredith.

The Rev. Beth Farabee-Puckett, Minister of Worship

Beth Farabee-Puckett has served as Associate Pastor at St. Luke's since June of 1999. Beth says, "Ministry here has been a whirlwind of activity filled with meaning and God’s presence is evident in this place! It has been a joy helping to both lead and plan worship services in such a creative atmosphere." She also spends time doing pastoral visitation, pastoral counseling and working with a variety of ministry areas.

She received her Masters of Divinity from Duke University and her undergraduate degree from Florida State University in Elementary Education. Beth is married to Tom, and has a 5 year old daughter Anna Nicole.

The Rev. LeeAnn Inman, Minister of Spiritual Formation

The Rev. Gary A. Shockley, Minister of HopeSpring Church

Gary Shockley joined the staff of St. Luke’s in July 2005. Gary was appointed by the bishop to serve on the clergy staff of the church with a major focus on helping us launch and then lead our daughter church in the area of Horizon West in West Orange County.

In addition to his church planting responsibilities Gary is also the lead preacher at our contemporary services on Sundays and directs the reaching ministry initiatives of the church.

Gary and his wife Kim relocated to central Florida from Western Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh area). They have two teenage sons, Aaron and Jake, in school at Olympia and Chain of Lakes.

Gary received a Master of Divinity degree from Ashland Seminary in Ohio and completed doctoral work in Spiritual Formation and Counseling from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

"Working as a staff member of St. Luke’s is a wonderful experience! What a joy to be working with such a creative and committed team of servant leaders. I look forward to a long and fruitful relationship with St. Luke’s for years to come as I plant and pastor their first "daughter" church."

Dr. David Stephens, Minister of Nurture and Church Growth

Dr. David Stephens is the Minister of Nurture and Growth and works in a variety of areas including some pastoral and preaching duties, visitor outreach, New Member class orientation and assimilation, nurture and support groups, and Men's Ministry. He is married to Marca Stephens and together they have four daughters and one grandson. They work together in leading and teaching some classes in the Singles Thursday night ministry. David is a graduate of Stetson University and Southern Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. He has been in pastoral ministry for 27 years throughout central Florida, and has been on staff at St. Luke's for 13 years. He is an avid runner, loves basketball, swimming, and biking.

The Rev. Jennifer Stiles-Williams, Minister of Relational Evangelism

I have a BA in Sociology/Psychology from Wesleyan College in Macon, GA and her Masters of Divinity from Candler School of Theology.

I've been a pastor in the Florida Conference since 1998 serving both as pastor in charge in smaller churches and associate pastor of a contemporary worship at a larger church in Jacksonville.

My call in addition to preaching at the Contemporary Worship Service is to help people and the church reclaim a passion for the type of evangelism that shares the good news of God’s love and grace through authentic relationships.

My husband is John and we have three children, Grace 10, Caroline 7, and Samuel 2.