I answered The Lord’s call to be a pastor in 1996; and for the past 25 years I have been faithful to this calling. I believe God’s Word to be God-breathed – authoritative in its inerrancy and transformative in its application. God has called His ministers to disciple those who are new to the faith and to equip all believers to serve as Christ has called us [Eph 4:11-13]. 

 I graduated from Liberty University with a Bachelor’s in Religion and earned a Masters of Divinity at Shepherds Theological Seminary in Cary, NC. After graduating from Liberty, I went into fulltime youth ministry. I have also served as senior pastor, assistant pastor, associate pastor, and elder. 

 My wife, Luciana, and I have a great love for God and His Word. HE has faithfully led us all our days and is worthy of our full submission to Him. Because His Word is our ultimate authority, we are passionate about equipping this next generation to reach more lives for Christ. Our personal vision is – to Know Christ and Make Him Known. In order to accomplish this, we must be – Grounded in God’s Word…United by God’s Spirit…and Submissive to God’s Authority.

 [1Cor 9:16] For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for I am under compulsion; for woe is me if I do not preach the gospel. 

 Damon Thomas 

I have been the administrative assistant for WBC since February of 2011.  I am the daughter of Joe & Annie Carawan, who were Salvation Army officers.  As a PK (Preachers Kid) I was blessed to live in several different states including Virginia, Texas, West Virginia, and now North Carolina.

I am married to the love of my life, Alex, and we have two wonderful adult children, Darian and A.J. 

I served Salem United Methodist Church as Administrative Assistant for 8 years.  After some brief work on a grant for ECU I found my “work-home” here at Winterville Baptist, and can’t imagine myself anywhere else.  

I absolutely LOVE what I do and truly feel like I’m called to this position.  I enjoy working with a team and we have a great one!  I’ve come to love many, many people in this church and feel blessed to call it my church home.

My journey with the Lord began in a Southern Baptist Church much like this one where I asked the Lord to save me from my sins when I was 8 years old.  My family along with my church family that consisted of Sunday school teachers, youth leaders, choir directors and pastors helped to nurture, teach and encourage me in my young walk in the Word.  More importantly, I saw them living it out in front of me through difficult and challenging times within their own Christian lives. Their incredible testimonies motivated and inspired me to never abandon my Faith and to hold on to the One who has become the most treasured Friend and companion that I have found throughout my life.  I am so thankful and feel beyond blessed that those kinds of seeds were sown into my life at such a young age.  I cannot begin to imagine one day, one hour or one second without His Presence. I have come to know His love, His peace, His joy, His protection and His guidance.  His Mighty Hand of provision and His continued faithfulness to me never ceases to amaze me.

 I have seen Him open doors of opportunities for me to tell others about His goodness even through my service in international mission trips to Mexico as well as Ecuador. My passion and my desire is to serve Him especially through Youth ministry and to begin to sow seeds into others along their journeys.   I want to introduce children and youth at an early age to this same Jesus who has accompanied me throughout my life and I want to lead them into beginning a journey and a walk with the One who loves them more than anything that the world may try to offer them.

The Gospel is a wonderful, life giving and life changing message to be shared and yet, simple enough that even children can understand.

My life verse is Proverbs 3:5-6.  It is great advice and a statement to be claimed by young people today.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.  Seek His will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take.

It is a blessing to serve in the music ministry at my home church.  Winterville Baptist Church has been my home since the early 1990s when I attended with my family.  In January 1992, I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior.  It was such a special time in my life.  I was in a wonderful place to grow as a young Christian.  My experience within our church allowed me to assist as a youth leader on lay renewal ministry teams throughout Eastern Carolina.  As an active member of the youth group, I also sang in the adult choir.  Music has always been an important part of my life.  I formally studied piano for over eight years.  Along with piano, I also sang with the Greenville Choral Society and the East Carolina University Chorale.  My experience with these choirs introduced me to different music genres.  I have a great appreciation for the traditional hymns that we sing because of the stories told through the lyrics. Contemporary worship music is also just as important because it gives us real life application from a modern perspective.  Our church blends both styles of music as we praise God with song. 

LET'S MAKE A JOYFUL NOISE UNTO OUR LORD!