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Meet Our Staff
 Founding Pastor
 Lawrence "Buddy" Martin
and his wife Betty are co-founders of Christian Challenge International. They have served the Lord in the ministry since the mid-1960s. (Read his testimony.) They began Christian Challenge in 1976 with a stewardship from the Lord.
The ministry began as a ‘School for Christian Workers’. It was Brother Buddy’s vision for missions that has led graduates of the school to enter the ministry as pastors or missionaries. Several hundred disciples have been trained under the auspices of Christian Challenge.
Brother Martin received his Bachelor's Degree from International Seminary in Florida. His deepest love is the study of the Hebraic roots of the Christian faith. Bro. Buddy's wife, Betty, as co-founder of the ministry has been an integral part of the ministry since its founding . She comes from a family of ministers. They have three children and twelve grandchildren. On December 17, 2006, Bro. Buddy turned over the primary leadership of Christian Challenge to his son, Nathan, who has been serving with him since November, 1990. Bro. Buddy is currently focused on his "Journey of Healing" from Lymphoma and plans to aggressively pursue expanding the School for Christian Workers and ministering out from Christian Challenge once his Lymphoma treatments are complete. He continues to serve as President of the Board of Directors of Christian Challenge International.
 Senior Pastor
Nathan Martin grew up in Christian Challenge
which his father founded when he was 11 years old. He acknowledged the call to the
ministry at a very young age and was licensed to preach at the age of 16.
He attended
Louisiana College in Pineville before transferring to
King's Way Missionary Institute in
McAllen, TX. In December of 1986 Nathan went to Mexico as a missionary where he helped
establish and oversee over a dozen churches among 4 different indigenous  people groups
(Mixe, Popoluco, Soque and Zapoteco). He also helped establish a large urban church in
Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz, Mexico, before returning to the states to serve as Associate
Pastor of Christian Challenge in November of 1990.
On May 23, 2004, Nathan
was installed as Pastor of Christian Challenge. And on December 17, 2006 Nathan was installed as Senior Pastor of Christian Challenge. Nathan is married to the former Lori
Marie Chapman of McAllen, TX and they have three daughters, Joy, Faith and Hope. (P.S. Check out Bro. Nathan's blog.)
Youth Pastor
Jon "Youth Guy" Martinez joined our staff to work with the youth in July of 2005. Jon is the son of Genaro & Sally Martinez, who serve on the pastoral staff of Ministerios Nueva Vida, a bi-lingual, non-denominational church in Lubbock, TX. Jon comes to us with a passion for youth and worship and we're looking forward to his being a part of our leadership team. He's already making a great impact through his desire to experience Jesus in reality! His enthusiasm is infectious! Jon keeps blogs at Xanga and at MySpace. |
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Jon "Youth Guy" Martinez
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Worship Leader
Jeff Murphy and his family first came to Christian Challenge as young believers. They relocated from the Dallas, TX area to receive training at Christian Challenge in the early 1980's. After a period of time they returned to Texas. Then, in 1990, Jeff and his family returned to central Louisiana to be a part of Christian Challenge once again. Jeff served in many capacities and was installed as Worship Leader in 2006. Jeff's entire family worships at Christian Challenge. His wife, Nan, teaches the 3 years old through Kindergarten Sunday School class and his daughter, Tammy, keeps the nursery on Sundays. |
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Jeff Murphy
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Awana Commander
Gary Fisher and his wife Nora have been active members of Christian
Challenge since the mid 1980's. Gary has been a long time volunteer in our
sound and recording booth and helps in many other areas around the church.
When our Awana program needed a
Commander, Gary volunteered and has done a great job of leading that
entire children's ministry. Because this is such a large component of the
ministry, Gary is considered part of the pastoral staff. As Bro. Buddy
says, "When you look in the dictionary for the word 'faithfulness'
you'll see a picture of Gary Fisher." Gary and Nora are parents of
two lovely daughters and grandparents of 3 beautiful grandchildren, with
two more on the way. |
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Gary Fisher
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Ladies' Ministry Coordinator
Jo Anne Rhodes joined the Christian Challenge family several years ago
and has definitely made her mark on our local body. Besides working
tirelessly in our Sunday School and Awana
programs, Jo Anne heads up our ladies' ministries. She facilitates the
monthly "Daughters of Zion" meeting for all the ladies in the
church as well as the regular "JoyKeepers" meetings for single
adults. Whenever there's a need, Jo Anne is nearby organizing a group to
meet it. Because of her crucial role of ministry she is considered part of
the pastoral staff and is greatly appreciated. |
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Jo Anne Rhodes
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Assistant Director - School for Christian Workers
Lane Fletcher was installed as the Assistant Director of the School for Christian Workers on Sunday, January 28, 2007. He works directly with Bro. Buddy in overseeing the School and in extending the School to other areas. He regularly teaches the Disciple's Heart class and has a true heart to minister to others. If you are interested in having any of the classes from the School for Christian Workers taught in your location, please contact Lane through our office at 318-640-4300. |
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Lane Fletcher
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