Pastor Wade Griffith was born in Decatur, AL, and has been married to his wife Julia for over 12 years. They have two sons, Wade III & Haines, and are thrilled to be in ministry in the Birmingham area. With a passionate interest in welcoming new families, creating outreach ministries, leading overseas missions and designing transformative worship, Wade loves to develop creative opportunities to invite friends and neighbors into the worship life of the church. ??Wade’s home church, Central United Methodist in Decatur, was truly a “home away from home” for him growing up and was a place where he first experienced the sacred gift of being a part of a loving and caring church family. With all the ups and downs of life, the joys and challenges of marriage and the holy responsibility of child-rearing, it is so vital to surround yourself and your family with a loving community of believers who can encourage you in your faith and help you to raise your children to love and follow Christ. ??As much as anything, this experience shaped Wade’s understanding of how God’s amazing grace works through the community of believers. If you haven’t ever experienced a community of unconditional love, acceptance and hope, join us for worship one Sunday at 8:30am or 11:00am and see what it is like to worship in a place where you are always greeted warmly and people know you by name. Grace is that kind of church!??Pastor Wade’s wife Julia is a graduate of Mississippi State University and works as an executive assistant at Nelson Brothers. Prior to having children, she worked as an academic advisor in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Alabama. In her free time, she enjoys time with family, Sudoku, travel and above all, a good romantic comedy.??In his spare time, Pastor Wade likes to be outdoors whenever possible. His hobbies include crossfit, running, reading, backpacking, gardening, Crimson Tide football, travel and trying to avoid having to watch any romantic comedies! ; )

Most of all, he loves spending time with the absolute love of his life, Julia, and their sons, Wade III and Haines. His favorite TV shows are "Pardon the Interruption" and any good British murder mysteries on Netflix or Amazon Prime. His favorite book is Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry.

Wade attended college at Birmingham-Southern and seminary at Vanderbilt University. Fun facts...Wade worked on cotton farms for three years, attended law school prior to seminary and worked as a ranger at Philmont Scout Camp while he was in college.??

Matt has been serving the people of Grace since October 2015. Prior to this position, he has pastored multiple congregational, academic, and clinical settings in Alabama, California, and Texas. In 2012, he graduated from Baylor University in Waco, TX with a Master of Divinity, and in 2018, a Doctor of Ministry from Emory University. Matt is married to his best friend and love of his life, Emily, who teaches music and worship at Samford University, Matt and Emily’s alma mater. Matt resides in Homewood with Emily, their son Elliot, and two dogs, Lily and Daisy.

Patti Rice is Administrative Director. She manages our facilities and finances. She is a 1985 graduate of The University of Alabama with a Bachelor of Science in Marketing. Patti also holds an MBA from the Harvard Graduate School of Business, which she earned after having worked for 5 years at Procter & Gamble and 2 years at Kraft General Foods. Her career also spans roles in small family-owned businesses, academia, and her own independent consulting firm. Patti has a passion for serving others. She co-founded Hands On Birmingham in 1998. The agency connects willing volunteers and groups of volunteers to needed service throughout the five-county Birmingham metropolitan area.

Patti has two teenagers, each of whom is active in different ways. Patti is married to Jay Price. Jay works for Lockheed Martin in Huntsville. Patti looks forward to getting to know members here and to working with many of you on various projects.

While Patti was a competitive gymnast through college, she is now content to take walks, hikes and an occasional kayak adventure.

Lana is married to her beloved, the original Don Johnson, and has two little Johnsons: Hope and Daniel. Her first career kept her involved in banking and investments for 15 years, but a call to full-time ministry in 2006 has led her to serve the United Methodist Church in a variety of capacities over the last 5 years.
She has served Grace in a volunteer capacity as Small Groups Team leader since 2007. She became a member of the staff in February 2011.

Lana met Jesus as her Lord and Savior at the age of 31 and still considers herself in the beginning stages of her walk with Christ. She has a passion for helping others to grow deeper in their relationships with Jesus as well as their understanding of His word.

She hopes one day to have enough spare time to devote to her favorite hobbies – gardening and scrapbooking, but for now is content to have clean laundry (sometimes).

Dixie grew up in Alabama, mostly in Gadsden and Boaz. She graduated from Jacksonville State University with a major in Music Education and received her Master of Divinity from Mercer University’s McAfee School of Theology. She is married to Scott Ford, also a JSU and McAfee graduate and Chief Operations Officer of Passport, Inc., a nonprofit organization that provides summer camps and mission experiences for children and youth. Scott and Dixie now live in Birmingham with their four children, Allie, Amber, Thomas, and Anna.

Dixie has worked with children either as a public school music teacher or as a children’s minister for 12 years. She is passionate about learning from and with children and about helping children discover and grow in their relationship with Jesus Christ. In her spare time you might find Dixie running, reading, or playing the piano. Dixie is excited to be part of the Grace family!

Bev has been married to Todd Endicott for 16 yrs, lives in Hoover, has 1 son (J.Dennis) and 2 grandaughters from Vestavia, 2 maltipoos (Aubie and Tootsie) and 1 cat (Peanut)! She retired after 32 years in the Alabama School System as a bookkeeper which consisted of 16 yrs in Vestavia School System, 8 yrs in Shelby County System and 8 years in Hoover System, then landed at Grace which was a true blessing!

Andrea Fite is the Nursery Director. She graduated from the University of Montevallo in 2006 with a Bachelor of Social Work. Andrea worked as a social worker for Gateway Family and Child Services in Birmingham for 9 years. She has also worked in the nursery at Trussville Methodist Church, several in-home daycares in the Pelham area, and at Learning Express Toys at their Trussville, Leeds, and Gadsden locations. She has been working in the nursery here at Grace since 2008 and stepped up to the role of nursery director in 2014. Andrea has been married to Mike Frost since May of 2017, and they are excited to be starting their lives together as part of the Grace family. Andrea and Mike live in Pinson with their large brood of fur babies.

Reggie was born in Birmingham, AL and grew up in the Southtown Projects. He attended Davis Elementary, Graduated from Hayes High School and enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1978.
Reggie married Febie Tucker in 1991. They have a daughter Alberta, a son Reginald Jr. and a granddaughter, Ameria. Reggie retired from the military in 1998. He has worked at Grace since 2008.
Reggie’s loves to spend time with his family and in his spare time, his hobbies are bowling and fishing.

Alex is originally from Charlotte, North Carolina. In 2013, he and his wife Katie moved to Birmingham as newlyweds to be closer to family.

Alex came to Grace soon after as an alternate drummer and occasional sound engineer. He was asked to join the staff as the Technical Director in early 2014. Alex is graduate of Appalachian State University, and holds a B.S. in Music Industry Studies - Recording and Production.

In his spare time, Alex enjoys family time, playing music, being outdoors, mountain biking, hiking, and occasionally doing back flips.

Chelsea Ramsey was born in Birmingham, AL but grew up in multiple cities and towns all over Alabama. She graduated from Birmingham-Southern College in 2014 with a Bachelor of Music degree in Piano Performance with a Business Minor. Before her position here, she worked as a Program Assistant at a statewide non-profit organization. As the daughter of a Methodist pastor, Chelsea has attended and grown up in several churches around the state.

Chelsea has been married to Ethan since July of 2017, and they are excited to be starting their lives together with their precious and energetic fur baby, Gabby. In her spare time, Chelsea loves to read, sing, take hikes, and watch movies.

Andrew and his wife, Michelle, both grew up in Alabama, but are kindred spirits in their love for the blue ridge mountains of North Carolina. They met while attending Appalachian State University and got married right after they graduated. Soon afterward, they moved to Alabama to settle down and "begin life" closer to their families. They now live in Cahaba Heights and have a blast raising their girls, Lucy, Etta, and Piper.

Andrew came to Grace in October 2009 to help run the sound system on Sunday mornings. Little did he and Michelle know that had found their church home! They joined the church in 2010, and both got involved on the worship music team from that point on.

Andrew now uses his passion for music and worship by serving as the Worship Arts Director at Grace.