Meet The Staff - Oconee Heights Baptist Church Athens, Georgia

Rob Bailey

Pastor

Pastor Rob Bailey and his wife Deandra felt God’s call to the Athens’ community in July of 2008. With the thought of planting a church that would impact the community, they first opened a coffee house in the Five Points area to meet people and build relationships. Two Story Coffee was launched in October of that same year and a local icon was born. Shortly after, in April of 2010, Rob was called to pastor here at Oconee Heights Baptist Church. Rob and Deandra have 3 adult sons Paul, Mark and John and three amazing daughters-in-law. Rob has served as student pastor at Decatur Heights Baptist Church, West-side Baptist Church and Student/College pastor at Annistown Rd. Baptist Church before coming to be our senior pastor in 2010. He’s a native of Georgia, growing up in the Atlanta area and attending Tucker High School, Mercer University and New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Pastor Rob is committed to expository preaching of the Bible, in which the Bible is read, explained, and applied to daily living. He and Deandra are both committed to living out the Gospel, thriving in community, and leading the Oconee Heights family to “love each other so well, we make Jesus Christ impossible to ignore”.

Matthew Efird

Associate Pastor

Matthew has the privilege of being married to his beautiful wife, Hannah. He and Hannah welcomed their first son, Walker, into their family in February of 2018. Their Goldendoodle, Fallon, is also a cherished member of their family. He and Hannah are high school sweethearts and both graduated from UGA. They enjoy hosting friends for dinner and game nights. Not only are they fiercely competitive but they love to travel. As the Small Groups Pastor, he encourages you to get plugged into our Church’s journey. He wants everyone to Connect, Grow, and Mobilize as a community. He loves to read, listen to music, and binge watch Netflix. Matthew grew up playing football but says he could snow ski every day of his life. It is no secret that he has a hidden talent for making homemade pizza.

Anna Schill

Children's Ministry Director

Anna joined the staff as Children’s Ministry Coordinator in April of 2015. She received her Bachelor’s Degree in Family and Children’s Ministry from Toccoa Falls College in 2010 and has served in several churches in both children and worship ministries over the past 5 years. Anna has a passion for sharing the Gospel with children and helping them grow in their faith and knowledge of Jesus Christ. She enjoys serving the children and families of our church and surrounding community and is excited about continuing to reach children with the contagious and powerful love of Jesus. Anna and her husband Vincent have been married since 2012 and Vince serves as a Police Officer for Athens Clarke County. They welcomed their first son, Lawson, in June of 2016, and second son, Clayton, in September of 2017.

Stephen Drane

Youth & Music Director

Stephen joined Oconee Heights in August of 2019. He received his degree in Communication Studies from the University of Georgia. While enrolled, he was highly involved with the Youth and Worship Ministry at a local church in Watkinsville. After graduating in 2018, he spent a year as a fly fishing guide in the Blue Ridge area. As much as Stephen loved his time on the river, He did not lose his passion for student ministry and leading worship. After a year of living it up with the fish, God has called him to join us at Oconee Heights as our Youth and Worship Director. His desire as Youth Director is for the students to actively pursue their relationship with Christ and grow deeper in their love for Him. As Worship Director, Stephen desires to facilitate a worshipful atmosphere that invites people to encounter Jesus. He is excited to see how the Lord will use Youth and Worship Ministries to glorify Him (Jesus...not Stephen). On any given day, you can find Stephen eating Chick-fil-A, cheering on the Dawgs, or Fly Fishing.

Meredith Raiford

Outreach Coordinator

Meredith joined the Oconee Heights family in January of 2019. She has a degree in painting from UGA. After graduating in 2015, Meredith felt a call to the mission field and left for a yearlong trip around the world using art as missions. Upon returning to the states, (Norfolk, VA) Meredith focused in on her love for teens and the underserved by plugging into her former youth group and working as a supervisor at a homeless shelter for families. In December of 2017 she re-met the man of her dreams and it didn’t take long before she was packing up her life and moving back down to the classic city. She and Alex are getting married in October of this year! Meredith is deeply passionate about seeing others reach their full potential, particularly when it comes to the church. Her desire for the youth of Oconee Heights is to foster growth and lead them to a lifestyle where they are pursuing God and others with passion and intentionality. On any given day Meredith can be found painting at her art studio, doing office work at Ike and Janes or walking the greenway next to her house.

Teresa Wilson

Ministry Assistant

When you call Oconee Heights, Teresa is the one who will answer the cell phone. She graduated from Athens Tech in marketing management and became a church member (with Joe, her husband) in 2013. Along with her regular office duties, she maintains the church website and social media. She also helps with most of the fellowship and outreach events and keeps up with the church calendar. In addition, she teaches 2nd to 6th grade Sunday school and volunteers for Awana and children’s church, “Canopy Kids”. She feeds her own growth by participating and co-leading women’s ministry. Teresa and Joe both love serving their church in any way that brings glory to God. At home, they both answer to the high expectations and demands of their dog, Maggie Mae.