Chad Hayes: Pastor
Pastor Chad Hayes was born and raised in Alexandria, LA and was a long time member of the Hope Baptist Church. He was saved at the young age of eight years old and was called to preach at twelve years old. During a season of rebellion He ran from the call to preach and enlisted into the United States Marine Corps as a rifleman with a combat tour to Al Anbar Province, Iraq. While in the Marines he met and married Sarah in 2008 while stationed on Marine Corps Base Hawaii, and they share five sons, Evan, Colton, Andrew, Julius and Wesley. It wasn’t until the end of active duty in 2011 when he re-surrendered His life to Christ and begin to pursue the Lords will for his life. Pastor Hayes earned a Bachelors in Religious Theology in 2016 from Heritage Baptist Institute a ministry of the Cleveland Baptist Church in Cleveland, OH. He then went on to earn a Masters in Ministry in 2018 from the Crown College of the Bible a ministry of the Temple Baptist Church in Powell, TN. It was upon seeing the need for biblical counseling in 2022 that he earned a Doctorate in Biblical counseling. He served on staff at the Chippewa Lake Baptist Church for five years as the Asst. Pastor/Reformers Unanimous Director. Upon the leading of the Lord he served as the Senior Pastor of the Caesarea Baptist Church in Mansfield, OH for six years until the Lord called him to pastor the Emmanuel Baptist Church in Jacksonville, TX in August of 2024. He is also privileged to have authored several books that are available on Amazon and they are “Ministering to the Addicted,” “The Laws of Paul,” and “Biblical Restoration.” His wife Sarah has also authored a ladies devotional entitled, “Teach Us to Number Our Days.” The Hayes family are truly thrilled to be in Jacksonville, TX and serving the great people of the Emmanuel Baptist Church.
Chris Cravens: Adult Sunday School
Bro. Chris was born in Oklahoma City in 1964, was raised in the Baptist church, and asked the Lord to save him when he was in 6th grade in Memphis, Tennessee. The family moved to Houston about a year later, and joined First Baptist Houston under Pastor John Bisagno. Upon attending Spring Branch High School and then graduating from Katy High School, he received an A.A. from Blinn College, and a B.A. and M.A. from Texas State University in San Marcos. He and his wife Audrey met at school in San Marcos, and she was saved under the pastorship of Bro. Ronnie Zabrowski at Lighthouse Baptist Church. Their family of three sons moved to Crockett in East Texas in 2001, and soon joined Emmanuel Baptist under beloved pastor Jack Thrift. Soon after joining, Bro. Chris began teaching the adult Sunday School class which he continues to enjoy doing to this day. Chris and Audrey both teach at Latexo High School and Angelina College. In his spare time, he likes to read and study on Bible subjects and play music, having become proficiently mediocre at a variety of musical instruments. Despite living in Texas most of his life, he still supports the Oklahoma Sooners football team.
Jonathan Thrift: Music Director
Bro. Jonathan was nine years old when his family made Emmanuel their home. His dad, Jack Thrift, was the pastor until his home going in 2011. Jonathan has been leading the music at Emmanuel since 1999. After being saved in 2000, God started growing Jonathan's love of music immediately. Influences like The Rochester Family, The Mullins Family, and Sound Doctrine urged him to pursue playing multiple instruments and ultimately led to the formation of Living Proof. Jonathan feels extremely blessed to serve God with his family through music and prays that the Lord is glorified through the songs that they sing. He and his wife have been married since May 14, 1999 and have two children, Rebecca and Benjamin.
Mary Thrift: Pianist
Mrs. Mary was married to her husband Jack Thrift, former pastor of Emmanuel Baptist, for 37 1/2 years before his home going in 2011. Jack and Mary had ministered together to military personnel in Mildenhall, England at a church that continues to this day. After Jack's graduation from Bible college they served at several churches throughout the state of Louisiana before being called to Emmanuel in 1987. Mary came to know the Lord at the age of 16 and dedicated her life to serving Him. She began playing piano for Junior Church in Belleville, Illinois and continues to work with the children's choir here at Emmanuel. She loves teaching music to future generations. Mary has four children, two of whom are part of the singing group Living Proof.
Kathleen Parker: Secretary & Keyboardist
Kathleen and her family moved to Jacksonville when she was 6 months old. Her father, Bro. Jack Thrift was the pastor at Emmanuel for 24 years until the Lord called him home in 2011. She prayed a prayer for salvation at a young age but it wasn't until the age of 28 that she realized she was not truly saved. She settled that decision in March of 2015. She and her husband have been married since March 29, 2008 and have three beautiful children. Kathleen is also part of Living Proof and enjoys traveling and singing for the Lord. She has been the church secretary since August of 2010.