From left. Front: Junior Grimes, Wayne Russell, Jim Thweatt, Kent Johnson. Back: Wayne Holt, Todd Wigginton, Stephen Bridges, Tom Irons, Ron Cunningham

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Before they were married Stephen and Lori Bridges “fell in love” with the church. They attend the Home Improvement Sunday class and have been very involved with the Antioch Student Ministries’ mission trips. Stephen and Lori have three children and are in the land and timber business. Lead by the Spirit, Stephen became an elder in June 2005. He states that before becoming an elder, “my opinions and philosophies only affected my family and I. Now my opinions and understanding of scripture affects the church.” He views this as a “humbling reality.” 

Ron and Barbara Cunningham came to Antioch in mid-1980 from a small congregation in Arrington, Tennessee, where they had served for 17 years. They have two children, both Antioch members, four grandchildren and 1 great grandchild. Ron made his living working for the past 29 years as office manager for Overnite Transportation, from which he retired in 2005. He and Barbara are members of the Beacon Class. He was installed as an elder in 1995, along with Ernie Scarborough. He felt led to seek the office of elder by the example of his father-in-law, Danville Whitwell. For Ron, the toughest part of shepherding the flock at Antioch is trying to meet the sometimes-overwhelming needs that are brought before the elders. The most rewarding part of the job is “seeing the love that is present and growing in the Antioch family.”  

Junior Grimes began attending Antioch as a single young man in 1956, the same year he came to Nashville to start work at Ford Glass, from which he is now retired. He met and married Peggy at Antioch. Theirs was the first wedding in the “old building” in 1961—in the area that now houses the Toddler Department! They have two children and five grandchildren and are members of the Beacon class. Junior believes that his father’s example and Brother Harold Sparkman’s encouragement contributed to his desire to serve as an elder. Junior says that the hardest task for him as an elder is “seeing one of our members suffer from a terminal illness and determining how to pray for them.” He finds gratification in being able to encourage and help others. 

Wayne Holt, Ouida, and their two sons came to Antioch in 1982 from a rural congregation in Wilson County. They had a daughter in 1989 and now have 6 grandchildren! Wayne's career was spent mostly as a sales manager and sales trainer. He is now retired from management but works as an independant insurence agent selling group and individual health and life along with Aflac products. Wayne became an elder in 2001 and was encouraged to accept the office by Stan Birdwell and Weldon Rickman. He feels that major challenges facing the church today are unity, freedom in worship issues, and encouraging the body to be outwardly focused. Wayne is currently working with outreach, the Couples class, and he and Ouida, serve as a Marriage Saver's mentor couple. Joys of shepherding include strengthening marriages, and spending time in prayer with members in need. Antioch is a special place, and he is honored to serve with his 8 brothers at such a time as this as we become more diverse.

After 23 years in the ministry, Antioch became a “safe place for healing” for Tommy and Linda Irons. Choosing to be a part of the Grace Sunday class was easy since Tommy had known Steve Diggs since Steve was in high school. Tommy occasionally teaches the class, and he and Linda have been involved in Marriage Savers and lead Grief Share seminars. Tommy is retired and now enjoys hobbies and grandchildren. They have three children and three grandchildren, and an Antioch Small Group meets regularly in their home. Tommy became an elder in June 2005, and says, “It is unbelievably rewarding to work with such an amazing group of men,” meaning the other elders. He says that the toughest task as an elder is “seeing so many needs and knowing that we can’t possibly address them all.”

Kent Johnson and Susan have been members at Antioch since 1989. Kent chairs the Kinesiology Department at Lipscomb University and Susan teaches elementary school at David Lipscomb Campus School. Kent and Susan are officially part of the Agape Sunday school class, but both enjoy working with “students” of all ages. Kent was installed as an elder on September 30, 200l. The Johnsons have three children: Russell who lives in Nashville with his wife Amber; Randi who teaches science in a Christian School in Guatemala; and Ryan who is an engineering student at Harding University. “God has placed us in the middle of an exciting, loving and spirit filled body here at Antioch. We hope and pray that we can continue serving in whatever capacity He calls us to.”  

Wayne and Connie Russell met at Antioch, and, with the help of Nancy Clark, were soon “a couple.” Wayne is a brick mason, currently self-employed, and they have three children. Although Connie encouraged Wayne to accept the office of elder in June 2005, his great “love for the body at Antioch” was the motivation for his desiring to serve. They are members of the Agape Sunday school class, where Wayne often teaches. Learning to use computers and the internet to communicate with his fellow elders has been an obstacle for Wayne, but he is making progress! Actually, “making decisions on issues where brothers and sisters have different opinions or different ways of looking at things” is the major challenge Wayne says he has in serving as an overseer, but he says “getting to know my brothers and sisters better” is the uplifting and rewarding aspect of shepherding. 

1976 was a special year for Jim Thweatt and his bride, Sue. Not only was it the year they married but also the year Jim started his engineering career with Nashville Gas Company and the year they came to Antioch. Jim grew up at the Jackson Park congregation, where his father served as a deacon and influenced Jim to serve His Lord in any capacity to which he is called. Jim took on the responsibility of being an elder at Antioch in 2001 because of the persistent encouragement God gave him through the other elders, Mike Root, and the elders he had known at Jackson Park. He and Sue have four children. Sue attends the Agape Sunday school class, and Jim teaches third graders. For Jim, the most difficult task as an elder is discerning between intruding and encouraging the members of Antioch. 

Todd and Denise first came to Antioch in the summer of 1986 and quickly became actively involved as class coordinator. They spent their first Anniversary as teachers and event coordinators at Antioch Bible Camp. They moved to Madison for period of time and returned to Antioch in 1998. They have four children, Kelsie, Khloe, Gentry and Karlie.

Todd was a teacher and coach for 18 years and has served as a curriculum coordinator with Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools for 6 years. Todd became an elder in 2005. One challenge is to continue to keep the focus on serving and reaching others. “The World has come to our community. I am excited about the willingness of our body to listen to the Lord and to reach out to those he has brought to us.”