Hope Church - Staff

Frank Bernat
Lead Pastor
I had a wonderful childhood growing up with my sister & cousins in Covington, GA. I graduated from Newton Co. High School in 1987 and headed off to college. I graduated from the University of Georgia ("Go Dawgs!") in 1992 with a B.A. in speech communications. And as hard as it is to believe, I accepted my call into ministry at UGA. So after graduation I attended Seminary at Emory University. I graduated with my Masters of Divinity in 1995 and was ordained a Deacon in 1996 and an Elder in 1998 in the United Methodist Church.

My wife Lesli and I met for the second time in 1994 (it's a really cool story how we knew each other as kids). We've been married for 10 years and have two beautiful daughters - Rachel (7) and Rebekah (5). They are the light of our lives!

Church has always been a big part of my life. I accepted Christ as my Savior when I was 11 years old. My teenage years centered around church, soccer & band. I took my first job as a youth minister while in seminary and did youth ministry for 6 years. That lead to a pastor position at Newborn UMC
(1998-2003) and most recently a Sr. Associate Position at Roswell UMC (2003-2006).

We are so excited about the opportunity that lies before us here at Hope. I feel a lot like Apollos who followed Paul at Corinth. Paul planted the seed of the gospel message in people's hearts. He was a missionary pioneer; he brought the message of salvation. Apollos' role was to water - to help the believers grow stronger in the faith. Paul founded the church in Corinth, and Apollos built on that foundation.

Tommy Willingham founded the church here at Hope (and I am indebted to his leadership & friendship) and I've got the privilege of following him and building on that foundation, but ultimately as Paul said in 1 Corinthians 3:6 "God made it grow". God will continue to grow this dynamic church and I am blessed to play a small role in the wonderful things He is doing here at Hope.

In my spare time I love spending time with "my girls" (Lesli, Rachel & Rebekah). I enjoy college football (specifically my Dawgs) and the NFL, NASCAR and believe it or not for a southern boy - I like hockey. Our family enjoys being in the outdoors riding bikes, playing ball or just working on the
yard.

I am one of the few Atlanta area natives around as I grew up in Mableton, Georgia and graduated from South Cobb High School. I started out my career in retail building materials (it was there that I met my lovely wife Kim) and made the move to the Group Insurance Employee Benefit world back in 1989. I worked in many different capacities within the Group Benefits industry and broadened my management skills along the way. Most recently, God has blessed me by serving on staff within this body of Christ we call Hope Church as Executive Director.

My passion is to go out and reach those 217,000 individuals within our local community that do not have a relationship with Jesus Christ and share with them what I have discovered. That is, that their lives can be radically transformed forever-for-the-better with a relationship with Christ.

I am married to my wonderful wife Kim and have two fantastic and amazing daughters, Kaley and Loren and an awesome dog Riley. Kaley is a student at Kennesaw State University and Loren is a freshman at East Paulding High School. I enjoy spending time with my family, outdoor gardening, traveling and volunteering in the student ministry here at Hope.

Debbie Ewing
Administration Manager
I was born in Marietta, Georgia and have lived most of my life in the Cobb/Paulding area. After graduating from Saint Pius X Catholic High School in Atlanta, I attended Kennesaw College. I joined the staff of Hope Church in April, 2005, after 17 years in the insurance and investment industry. In my free time, I enjoy scrapbooking, bowling and NASCAR! I have been married to my husband, Alan for 19 years and we have three children--Ashley, Melanie and Alan Jr., along with three dogs - Lady, Dega and Tallie.

Brent Huckaby
Director of Worship & Arts
I was born in Florence, SC but spent most of my life in Raleigh, North Carolina. After graduating from high school, I attended Furman University where I met my beautiful wife Kelly and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Music. During this time I had many opportunities to lead worship, and felt the calling to serve the local church through music and the arts. Kelly and I were married one week after graduation and spent the next three years in Orlando, Florida before moving to the Atlanta area to serve at Hope. We have two amazing little boys, Joshua and Jaden.

I have a passion for seeing people go deeper in their worship of God. I enjoy using the arts and technology to bring people into encounters with Christ. I have been playing the piano since age five and the guitar since college, as well as singing in choirs and worship teams most of my life. I am excited to be a part of the Hope Church team and seeing what God has planned for His church.

During my free time I enjoy hanging out with my family (including dog, Gracie), running, and playing basketball. I am glad to be back in the "south" where you don't have to special order sweet tea at restaurants.

Gary Marshall
Director of Student Ministries
My wife and I were both born in Texas to wonderful, Godly families. Kathy was born and raised in Houston and I was raised in a little town north of Dallas. We were very active in our churches while growing up.

Kathy moved to my hometown to attend the University of North Texas and major in Music. We met shortly after she moved there and we fell for each other very quickly. We were married just over 12 months from our 1st date. We began working with teenagers as a “favor” to the Pastor of our church and I learned very quickly that this was God’s calling on my life.

I have served full time in churches in Amarillo, TX, and Union City, TN. All in all I’ve been ministering to students for the better part of 20 years. In that time culture has changed some but the one thing that has not changed is the fact that teenagers today desperately need to experience the love of Christ. They need to understand that their identity is not found in what they do in this world but in who they are in Christ. It is my desire to continue investing in students and training them to be the Godly men and women that God designed them to be so that they can grow to be spiritually healthy and experience the freedom that comes from living in the center of God’s will.

Teresa Boulware
I grew up in the Mississippi “Delta” before moving to Georgia 17 years ago. I was blessed to be raised in a Christian home and cherish my memories of growing up in the church with my family. I have an associate’s degree in elementary education with a minor in child psychology.

I worked with children in my home for 8 years. I came on the staff team at Hope in the fall of 2001 as Preschool Director. My philosophy is that children should have fun while learning and I strive to make the preschool a place where each child can have a fun, safe and loving environment where they can grow spiritually and educationally while discovering the joy of believing in Jesus Christ.

I have been married for 17 years and have two daughters. I enjoy shopping with my girls and attending NASCAR races with Jimmie.

Michael Wahl
I was born in Tampa, FL but was raised, braised and trained in Leesburg, Fl. (Yes, I’m a Tampa Bay Buccaneers Fan) After graduating high school, I attended the Baptist College of Florida where I met my amazing wife Starla. From there I joined the Army and gave three years of my life to Uncle Sam.

Starla and I have been married for nine years and have three beautiful girls.(Brittney, Bailey and Bethany) I also have a Basset Hound named Lilly and a Cat named Baby Kitty, which both happen to be girls. Let me just say I watch a lot of Barbie movies in between my Monday Night Football.

My passion is to love on kids. That’s it, no great theological example what they need to become. No four paragraph mission statement that never happens. I try to keep it simple, but practical. Love Kids! What an amazing opportunity we have to shape and mold kids with love of Jesus Christ.

Alisa Hagemann
I was born in Savannah, Georgia and moved to the Atlanta area early in my childhood. My family lived on the east side for a few years and then we moved here to the west side where I attended McEachern High School. After graduating in 1983, I attended Marietta Area Vocational Tech. I married Brad Hagemann in September of 1988. We have three energetic and active kids; Whit, Chad and Lydia.

I worked in business and property management for nine years before the birth of my first child. I made the decision to be at home with my children while developing a part time business of gymnastics, dance and baton twirling instruction for kids. The creation of Kiddie Gym in 1992, which I still teach occasionally, was the fastest growing class.

Here at Hope, I'm excited to be involved with coordinating the weekend preschool program "Discoveryland" and the choreography and dance team instruction of our family production, Kid Shack Live. I have a great joy in working with children and I am thankful to have the opportunity to serve in the Children's Ministry at Hope.