Staff

Dr. Sean Michael Lucas

Senior Pastor

Sean Michael Lucas serves as the eighth senior minister in the history of First Presbyterian Church, Hattiesburg, Mississippi. Born in Stratford, New Jersey, Sean moved up and down the eastern seaboard as a child. He graduated from Bob Jones University (BA, 1993; MA, 1994) and Westminster Theological Seminary (PhD, 2002). He was ordained as a Presbyterian minister in 2003 and served on the staffs of two churches, Community Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Louisville, Kentucky, and the Covenant Presbyterian Church (PCA), St. Louis, Missouri. He, his wife Sara, and their four children came to FPC in 2009.

C. Knox Baird

Minister of Missions/Outreach

Knox Baird is a graduate of Belhaven College and Reformed Theological Seminary.  He is married to Debra and has one child, Alexandria.  He spent two years in Africa with African Bible Colleges, and has also worked in the oil business and as a broker in the financial world.  Knox likes sports and history.  

Knox works with outreach and missions with First Presbyterian Church.  This involves encouraging and equipping all members to be an ambassador for Christ across the street or across the world.  

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David H. Jussely

Minister of Senior Adults/Visitation

Dr. David Jussely has over 38 years of pastoral experience in Mississippi.  After graduating from the University of Southern Mississippi, he attended Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson.  He has filled pulpits in Centreville, Yazoo City, and Hattiesburg.  In December 1997, he received his Ph.D. from USM and joined the faculty at RTS in June 1999.  In 2010, he returned to Hattiesburg to serve as Minister of Senior Adults and Visitation at FPC.  He is married to Andrea Herring Jussely and has four adult children:  Josh, Daniel, Jonathan, and Carrie.

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Ben Griffith

Minister of Students

Ben is a native of Hattiesburg and has been on staff at First Presbyterian since 2007. He graduated from Southern Miss in 2008, and received his Master of Divinity from Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson in 2014. Ben and his lovely wife Rebecca have three children, Margaret, Owen, and Elizabeth, all of whom love to hang out with “daddy’s big kids” in the youth groupEmail

Kathy C. Young

Director of Children’s Ministry

Kathy has spent a career spanning more than 20 years in the field of early education, teaching children and training those who lead them.  She holds a master’s degree in child development and a bachelor’s degree in psychology.  She is an author of books for children and teachers.   Kathy enjoys employing her experiences and knowledge of child development to promote excellent Christian education.  She also delights in observing God’s hand at work in the hearts of children.  Kathy, and her husband, Louis have been members of the First Presbyterian Church family since 1994, and are grateful to be the parents of teenagers, Chase and Janie.