Hello Church Family! My name is Dwight Bateman. I have a wife of 39 years (Jan), two grown daughters, one 3 year old grandson and one granddaughter that is due any day now! Jan and I have been at JC3 for 2 years; so, we are still getting to know many of you as fast as we can.

While it was age 12 that I accepted Jesus as my Savior and was baptized, I always point to my early 20s as the time when I really committed to making Jesus the Lord of my life as well. Here, I asked myself the question—"Am I going to live a life that grows my faith and lifts high the name of Jesus or am I going to be content to barely know Him.” This has proven to be a lifelong pursuit—the more I know Him, the more I want to know Him even more!

Fast forward---over the last 10+ years, Jan and my primary ministry has been focused on hosting a small group in our home. We have two goals in mind in this ministry---1) to break open and wrestle with God’s Word in the context of one amazing story and 2) to create a Community of Believers—a place where one can develop deeper friendships that rejoice with each other as well as bear each other’s burdens. We still see this as our calling and have told the Lord—"as long as you send people our way, we will be faithful to meet”.

We are so thankful to be at JC3. What drew us to the Church is its focus on loving each other and its community well. In a world that tells us that “you don’t need a church—you can live out your faith on your own”, we desperately need to push back and work to build Community within the Body of Christ. Only then can we begin to live out Jesus’s most important commandments of loving God and loving each other. Only then will the lost be drawn to the table of God’s goodness.

Mark & Carmela Gamber came to JC3 in March of 2022, after moving to Jefferson City from Texas. Together we have 4 boys. Frankie & Joshua are Carmela's two sons while Brody & Zach are Mark's two sons. Mark works for Cummins Inc. as a Bus Account Executive who helps school & transit fleets maximize their use of the Cummins engine product line. Carmela runs a gift boutique, Christmas at the Creek, in downtown Jefferson City.

Mark has always been a believer in Christ but was previously not following His ways as a believer should. He was saved in the early 2000's and began to learn to obey the teachings of our Bible. Today, Mark serves as one of the JC3 deacons & is active in anything he has time for. He is a regular of the Greeting team, serves as needed for VBS, Trunk or Treat, Operation Christmas Child, Habitat for Humanity builds, & various community projects that get organized. If his work schedule permits, he hopes to be active on future mission trips as well.

I am Rhett Alger and this is my family, my wife Jen and daughter Chayanne. Jen and I have been married 13 years as of August this year, my family and I have been members of JC3 for 8 years now. I currently serve on the JC3 security team and fill in when needed with teaching the Ride class.

Larkin Keller is a Johnson University graduate and has been ordained as a minister the Woodlawn Christian Church in Knoxville. His church ministries include High Point NC, Cookeville TN, and Nashville TN. He has also traveled as a vocalist in the group “Sunday”, as a part of the “Christ in Youth” ministry. Since becoming a part of JC3 in 2005, he has served as a deacon and worship team vocalist. He presently serves as a greeter, a member of the prayer ministry, and with the “Vital Signs Deaf Ministry”, which he started in 2024.

Larkin has been married to fellow Knoxville native Emily for 38 years. Their son Ryan and his family, live in Jefferson City and faithfully serve their church. Larkin and Emily are “Papa and

Mimi” to Alice Gayle who is the apple of their eye! His hobbies are music, sports, bird watching, dad jokes and loving his five guinea pigs. Larkin desires to be emptied out daily and filled with the Holy Spirit.