SWAT Ministries, Inc

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Ryan was a middle school student in Rincon, Georgia and his father was the youth pastor at the church that had brought SWAT in for a weekend. Ryan wanted to play with the worship leader, Joel Goddard’s, brand new guitar. Unfortunately, as he was playing with that guitar, without permission, he dropped it and it cracked. Joel was not the happiest person but Ryan’s father made sure that that guitar was fixed quickly. When Ryan came to UGA, he became a SWAT Leader. He was so good with students and he understood how to communicate to them about the Gospel and how to love them. He worked so hard on everything that he did and spent so many hours on weekends. Within a couple years of leading weekends, Ryan began to be one of our speakers. He worked so hard at learning how to communicate and did a great job. Ryan was actually hired by one of the churches where we were doing SWAT Weekends in Jacksonville, Florida. He became their youth pastor and then as they planted a new church in the area, Eleven22, he joined that staff. Ryan is now the Lead Pastor at one of Eleven22’s church plants and having a huge impact on the city of Jacksonville.

Robin worked at a printing company that printed some of our materials. One day, while we were picking up curriculum, she began to ask questions about who we were. It was not long after that, she came on staff and began to help us with booking weekends, accounting, and anything else that needed to be done. Robin is one of the most talented people. She gives her heart and soul to what she believes in and does it with quality and excellence. Robin spent hours on the phone talking with youth pastors that we worked with over the years. She is so creative and was always looking for ways for SWAT to be more efficient. One time she went out and bought a binding machine to bind our curriculum instead of paying the printers to do it in order to save money. She always had SWAT’s best interest at heart in everything that she did. Her time at SWAT was a tremendous blessing and we will be forever grateful for the way that she served and sacrificed.

Dustin was in the youth group at Colbert Baptist Church while Jon was the youth pastor. As Dustin got older, he began to express a desire to grow in his relationship with the Lord. He began to take leadership roles in the youth group and started helping out where he could. As a junior in high school, he spoke at his first youth event. He worked so hard, prepared so well for his talk and he absolutely killed it. It wasn’t long before he was leading SWAT Weekends. He began to help with recreation on the weekends and then developed a desire for worship and began to learn how to play the guitar and sing. Before long he was leading worship on the weekends, leading recreation and coordinating SWAT Weekends. Dustin is a natural leader and he never meets a stranger. When he walks into a room, he intentionally gets to know everyone there because he cares. Dustin is now married to Erin and they have a beautiful family. Dustin is a leader, Dustin is a Jesus follower, and Dustin is a great husband and father!

Owen and Courtney are such an amazing couple with an amazing family! They both served as SWAT Leaders during the college years and both did such an incredible job. Owen interned for SWAT with a stellar crew that included Mollie Mitchell, Andrew McClure and Bryan Farmer. Owen attended Law school at UGA and has become an accomplished lawyer in the state of Georgia. Courtney is one of the best moms on the planet and does such a great job loving and encouraging her family. Interesting fact about Owen, he not only practices law but he’s a referee for basketball games on the side. He has done so well that this year he will be a referee for NCAA basketball games. Owen and Courtney led so many SWAT Weekends during their college career. They were huge believers in the mission of SWAT and spent countless hours serving in multiple capacities. Owen has also been a huge supporter of our annual golf tournaments. He has consistently brought teams and been very intentional about who he brings and why. They are still loving and encouraging people everywhere they go!

Matthew is from Gainesville, Georgia. Matt is a talented musician and has led many weekends for SWAT. He began his time with us as a small group leader and did such a great job loving students. He helped develop our worship program and for years would lead either by himself or with the band that he brought to the event. Matt is gentle, sweet and kind. Not too long after graduating from college, he met Jackie, fell in love, and now they have three beautiful children. Matt has spent his recent years serving on the worship team at his home church and working for a roofing company in Athens, Georgia. He is very skilled at what he does and has become a loving husband, a caring father, and someone that leads his family with the love of Jesus. Matt is also a skilled carpenter!

Madhur is a natural leader and is a brilliant strategist. He wants to make every situation better and will not stop until he has figured out the best possible solution. Madhur led SWAT weekends while he was in college. One of his strengths is challenging those around him. He’s never happy with the status quo and always wants to see change take place in people's minds as they grow in their understanding of the world around them. Madhur served at the Gathering Place on Saint Simons Island for a number of years as one of their directors. Madhur also served on staff at a church in Gwinnett County called 12Stone. He is now back on Saint Simons serving as Executive Pastor at Union Church. He is an out-of-the-box thinker and has such a unique perspective. He and his wife Amy have three beautiful children. Madhur had spent many years sharing the Gospel with his father and was able to see him except Christ as his personal Lord and Savior shortly before he passed away. It was a bittersweet moment and one that Madhur had prayed about for many years. Madhur loves Jesus and he wants people to know who Jesus is.

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon his shoulder,
and his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end,
on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it
and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.

Isaiah 9:6-7

We met Brian while he was a student at UGA and Kelli, while she was a student at Briarwood Baptist in Watkinsville, Georgia. Kelli’s youth pastor, Mike Ricks, was a very good friend and he involved SWAT by bringing us in to do their weekends. Kelli comes from an incredible family with strong Godly parents and amazing siblings, all great leaders in their own right. Brian and Kelli met through SWAT, quickly hit it off, and now have three amazing children living in Beaufort, South Carolina. Brian is a lawyer and Kelli is a loving and passionate mom while competing in CrossFit competitions around the country. They made a huge impact on SWAT during their time in Athens. They helped us grow and develop our leadership base, helped us hire and train new leaders, and loved on students over the course of many weekends.

Anson and Heather are from Macon, Georgia and came to interviews as seniors in high school. Their youth pastor brought about 10 of his students up to Colbert, Georgia, where SWAT was holding interviews in the late 90s. Anson has always been the practical joker and someone that loves to make people laugh. Heather is very tender and soft, loves people, and enjoys serving. They compliment each other as a couple and their gifts and wiring have been a huge strength as a married couple. They both jumped in quickly to leading weekends. They were so good at loving and communicating with students. They never got tired of serving and looked for any opportunity to help on the weekends. Within a year or so, Heather began to coordinate our weekends and Anson became one of our speakers. He was so gifted on stage. The students and adults were drawn in with his speaking and peoples lives were brought closer to Jesus because of what he shared with them. Heather had such a strong sense of commitment and attention to details. She always took care of the leaders on the weekends as she was serving in her role as the coordinator. She would bring them gifts on Friday, she would make sure that they knew she was praying for them, and she always had her phone on to field any question that they had during the weekend. After college, Anson began to travel and speak at camps and churches all over the country. He and Heather moved to California where he served as a youth pastor and they began to raise a family. A few years later, they moved back to Gwinnett County in Georgia and planted a church by the name of Emmaus. That was over 12 years ago and Emmaus is still going strong and growing every week. They are servant leaders at their church, in their community, and they are a power team as a couple.

Mollie is from Waynesboro, Georgia and came to UGA during her college years. She was very outgoing, very witty and was definitely a leader among her peers. She jumped right into leading weekends and pouring into young middle and high school girls. She never really seemed to get tired or run out of energy. Her junior year, she applied for an internship position with SWAT. The interns that year were Molly, Andrew McClure, Owen Farist and Bryan Farmer. They were a dynamic team! Mollie was such a hard worker with everything that she accomplished. One weekend we had three different events going on in three different cities. One of the churches had not received their t-shirts as of Saturday morning and she began to track them down. Mollie was not going to give up until those students had their t-shirts. We found them in a town about two hours away where they had been sent to a church with the same name, just the wrong city. We made some phone calls and within a few hours, those shirts were at the right church. Mollie never gave up and she always did it with such joy and determination. After college, Mollie moved to Houston, Texas where she began to work at Second Baptist Houston, a small church with about 70,000 members. It was there that she met her husband Jonathan and they now live in Houston and have two young boys. Molly is one of those leaders that you never forget and someone that made her mark on SWAT.

Jai was serving with FCA before getting involved with SWAT. While serving, she applied for a small group leader position with SWAT. Jai led weekends for a couple years and then applied to be an intern. When we began to talk about expanding in Texas, Jai said that she was interested and wanted to move to Texas after graduation to help us grow. One of Jai’s strengths is managing events. Her responsibility, as an intern, was managing Ignite. Ignite is our leadership training weekend for new leaders that are coming on board. Jai helped restructure and improve our training process. She took those skills with her to Texas and is now helping manage and lead our events in College Station. Jai is extremely loyal, deeply committed, and zealously guards the tasks that have been given to her.

In 1996, SWAT began to lead weekends at Kiokee Baptist Church in Appling, Georgia. John was in the seventh grade on that first weekend. During John’s time at UGA, we discovered he was a really good communicator and we invited him to help speak at an event at a private school in Dacula, Georgia. The next couple years, he co-spoke at events with Jon on SWAT Weekends as well as the BCM in Athens. John has always been someone that pursues wisdom and makes wise choices. He began to help with SWAT in so many ways during his time in college. After he graduated, he joined our Board of Directors. For the past four years, John has served as the Chairman of our Board of Directors. He has challenged what we do as a ministry, he has prayed for us and supported us, he has introduced us to people that have been valuable connections and most importantly he has fought for us. John is now living back in Appling, Georgia, married to Chelsea and they have two daughters. John will always be someone we can rely on, who will offer wisdom and counsel to the ministry.

Daniel is from Lyons, Georgia and a country boy at heart. He attended UGA and led numerous SWAT Weekends during his college career. He loved spending time with students and he loved talking to them about Jesus and about what Jesus was doing in his life. Daniel had a desire to speak to students from the stage and a natural gift for it. His first time speaking in Jemison, Alabama, he shared so passionately and personally about what a relationship with Jesus Christ can be for an individual. When he began to talk about the Gospel, he teared up because it meant so much to him. Students listened and lives were changed because of his transparency and his authenticity. Daniel went on to be a youth pastor at Watkinsville First Baptist Church for seven years and now he serves as the CFO for Lavender Pest Control in Athens, Georgia. Daniel cares about people and he cares about Jesus and wherever he goes, people get to hear about his Savior.

Mac is from Carrollton, Georgia and in high school applied for a leadership position with SWAT, was hired, and began leading weekends. He had such a passion for students and he connected so well with them. Mac has a contagious enthusiasm and a sharp wit that students found it easy to connect with during their time together. He also has a passion to share the Gospel and to teach students what it means to have a personal, one-on-one, daily relationship with Jesus. A few years after Mac began leading small groups for us, he began speaking on our weekends. He worked so hard at developing the art of speaking and students connected with him from his role on stage. He began to find older guys in the speaking world to mentor him and help develop him. These days Mac is on the road full-time speaking and sharing the word of God with students and adults. He and his wife, Chelsea, live in Kentucky where she is in medical school and they are enjoying their married life together. Mac has had an influence on so many students over the years. He works hard, he loves Jesus and he is someone that people listen to when he speaks.

Ryan Griffin is truly a talented person! While he was attending the University of Georgia he applied for a small group leader position with SWAT. Ryan is from Chula, a small town in South Georgia right outside of Tifton. Ryan has always been someone with an insatiable quest for knowledge. Ryan wants to learn and grow personally and spiritually. Ryan led numerous SWAT Weekends during his time at UGA. After graduating from UGA, Ryan went on to work at Focus on the Family where he quickly rose through the ranks and was given more leadership opportunities. Ryan was able to continue partnering with SWAT during his time at Focus with some leadership development projects. After Focus on the Family, Ryan began to work for Winshape, thanks to Bubba Cathy. Ryan is now working at Chick-fil-A as a Talent Consultant. Ryan’s understanding of leadership structure and systems have made him a valuable asset at Chick-fil-A. Ryan has a passion to develop other people and to make sure that they are walking in the gifts and the talents that God has given them. Fun fact about Ryan and his wife Rachel is that they were on the HGTV show Property Virgins. When they moved from Colorado Springs to Newnan, Georgia, that move was documented on Property Virgins. It’s an honor to know Ryan.

Jake applied for SWAT, was accepted and began leading weekends as a freshman at UGA. Within a few months of being on staff, he expressed interest in interning for SWAT. He is now a junior, in his second year of interning and doing a great job! Jake is loyal, he is a hard worker, and most importantly, Jake loves Jesus with his whole heart. Jake has excelled at everything he has accomplished during his time with SWAT. When there has been a need for personal improvement, he has risen to the challenge, accepted the responsibility, and made the changes. Ben Deal was one of the guys who discipled him and it shows. Guys like Jake make SWAT what it is.

Ben Deal hails from Dublin, Georgia. You know what they say about Dublin, it’s the fastest growing city in America, it’s “doublin” everyday! Ben came to UGA as a freshman and became a SWAT Leader. At the beginning of his freshmen year, he made a choice to follow Jesus more closely than he ever had, to choose wisely who his close friends would be, and he chose to impact UGA for Christ. All those choices placed him in a spot to emerge as an influential leader, someone others wanted to emulate, and someone who would change the UGA campus for Christ. Ben and his roommate Matthew took the reins of an international ministry with 10 in attendance and within a year, raised that to over 100 attending. Ben led SWAT Weekends, interned for SWAT, and helped SWAT strategically grow their reach on campus. At the beginning of his senior year, he began to plan his exit from UGA. He found people that would continue the work he began. He found others to continue the discipleship he was currently doing with guys on campus. He found replacements for his role in leading the international ministry. Ben made choices as a freshman and he accomplished so much during his four years at UGA. He is now living in Atlanta and working for EY in People Advisory Services. He is cultivating relationships that will foster his relationship with Christ, challenge and encourage others, as well as serving in a local church. SWAT is different because of Ben Deal.

Andrew came to Athens, Georgia to be a student and also to work with the football team. The summer before moving to Athens, he gave his life to Christ. Andrew became a leader, served as an intern, and became one of our speakers for the weekends. It was at UGA that he met Annie, who would be his future wife. Annie also became a SWAT Leader and she and my sister became very close. Andrew and Annie went to work with a missions organization after graduation and moved overseas to serve as missionaries. They are now back in the United States, four kids later, and Andrew is serving as the lead pastor for a new church in Savannah, Georgia. Andrew and Annie had a tremendous impact on their peers during their time in Athens. They helped reshape the organization that they were involved with overseas and now they have been tasked with a new church that is growing very quickly. The Lord has his hand upon these two!

These two brothers, who hail from Dacula, Georgia, truly are a powerful force in the kingdom of God. Jason and Ryan both served as SWAT Leaders during their college years. They spent countless weekends loving on and discipling middle and high school students. They were huge advocates for SWAT, always recruiting and always sharing with their friends about the mission and the purpose of SWAT. They are also both fantastic communicators. Jason is the lead pastor at Bethlehem Church in Bethlehem, Georgia. Jason‘s leadership has allowed that church to grow tremendously over the past few years. Ryan is the Executive Ministries Pastor at Eleven22 in Jacksonville, Florida. Quite a few years ago in Chattanooga, Tennessee, Ryan had broken his ankle on Wednesday and was scheduled to speak Friday, Saturday and Sunday morning. He didn’t have to do it but he showed up and absolutely killed it! He clearly and powerfully communicated the Gospel and this is how we want our speakers to share the love of Jesus. Thank you guys for everything you have done for SWAT!

Tripp Chandler was a starting tight end for UGA Bulldogs and SWAT Leader when he wasn’t on the field! When he found out about SWAT, he wanted to apply for a leadership position because he loved students and he loves sharing the Gospel with them. Tripp did a great job on the weekends as a small group leader. Students looked up to him and he used the influence that God had given him very well to build relationships and share about his own relationship with Jesus Christ. One of our favorite memories with Tripp on a weekend occurred in the North Georgia area. We arrived and some of the adults quickly gathered around Tripp when they figured out who he was. As they were chatting with him, he started talking about SWAT and what we did as a ministry to take the spotlight off of him. It was so sweet of him to see his heart behind the platform that God had given him and a ministry that he loved and cared about. Tripp married his college sweetheart right after college and they now have four children all living in Georgia. Tripp has had quite a bit of success in the business world, is very generous with what he has been given, and still continues to share the love of Jesus with those around him.

Adam Johnson is truly one of the most life-giving people! During college at UGA, he was on the football team, involved in a few ministries on campus, and he applied for a leadership position with SWAT. Adam‘s excitement and his passion for his relationship with Christ was absolutely contagious! Students loved it! He could lead worship, he could speak, he could lead recreation, coordinate a weekend or be a small group leader. One weekend I challenged him to see how many roles he could actually fulfill on a weekend. He took the challenge and led worship, was the speaker, coordinated the weekend and led recreation. Each one of those roles, he did with excellence and gave it everything that he had. He was exhausted after the weekend but he did it and he is the only one that has ever done that in our history. Adam is married to Kelly and they have four boys. Adam is the pastor of Browns Bridge Church in Cu***ng, Georgia. Adam loves Jesus and he loves people and SWAT is different because of the investment that he made.

Levi and Christa were SWAT Leader‘s during their time attending Shorter University in Rome, Georgia. They both love Jesus and love students. They spent countless weekends traveling all over the southeast to tell middle and high schoolers what a personal relationship with Jesus Christ looked like. Levi went on to be a youth pastor, a senior pastor and now works with the Georgia Baptist Mission Board as one of their senior staff. Levi has a keen sense of what it takes to lead other people. He has a great sense of humor, he’s a phenomenal communicator, and he and Christa have raised four amazing children. One of their sons, Garrison, is now a SWAT Leader himself. It’s so exciting to have their son onboard as a leader. They are amazing parents, incredible examples to everyone that they meet, and it is such an honor to continue to be able to know them.

April and Amy Ostrander were best friends growing up together at Crabapple Baptist Church. They attended SWAT Weekends together during high school. April‘s parents were also involved with serving at Crabapple and quickly began serving the SWAT Leaders. April became a leader in college and very quickly transitioned to being one of our Weekend Coordinators. April has never met a problem that she cannot solve. She is extremely gifted with administration, leading people, and has a very unique gift of creativity that she adds to everything that she does. April helped us with recruiting, developing, and training our leaders. She and her family played a key role in the community of SWAT for many years. Her mom is the most amazing cook and her dad has always been so generous with anything that he has. April is now married to Brett and they have two incredible children. April serves at Northpoint Community Church as Logistics Director - High School Ministry.

Amy Ostrander began her experience with SWAT as a junior in high school. Amy attended Crabapple Baptist Church in Alpharetta, Georgia and in 1993 they brought SWAT in to lead their Disciple Now that weekend. Amy was a student that was a leader and also was very passionate about what she believed. She challenged her small group with some questions that would always lead to good discussions. Amy spent two years as a student and then when she entered college, she applied to be a SWAT Leader. She then began to pour back into middle and high schoolers in the same way that she had been poured into by her small group leaders. Amy expressed interest in becoming a Weekend Coordinator and within a year became not only one of our best coordinators, but also began to actively take more leadership in SWAT. Amy continued to lead after she graduated college. She began to help us with our interviews and our training weekends. She was deeply committed to SWAT and she made sure that everything she did was done with the utmost excellence. People love following Amy because they believe in her. She was consistently coming up with new ideas and better ways for SWAT to serve youth ministers and students. She made a huge mark on SWAT during her time of service. Amy went on to work for Athens Church as their Children’s Director and for the last six years has been at Northpoint Church in Alpharetta as their Children’s Director. A few years ago, Amy and Stephen were married and now they have a son they recently adopted. Amy is a game changer and loved by so many people.