Jim Gant
I was born in Atlanta and grew up in the south Atlanta area. When I was five years old, my family was reached by a Baptist church that sent buses into local apartment complexes and neighborhoods and that gave out free bubble gum to kids who came to church. A few years after my family began attending that church, I came to faith in Christ and was baptized when I was nine years old. After graduation from Riverdale High School, I began my college career at Truett-McConnell College (which was then a two-year school) and went on to graduate from Berry College in 1992 with a B.S. in Psychology.
I attended Georgia State University and the Psychological Studies Institute (now Richmont Graduate University), graduating from these institutions in 1997 with a Master’s Degree in Community Counseling and a Diploma in Christian Counseling. I later earned a PhD in Counselor Supervision from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.
While in graduate school, I served as Youth Pastor at Eastside Baptist Church in Ola, Georgia, and my wife Angie served as Minister of Music. Upon my graduation, Angie and I moved to north Georgia (and began attending Helen First Baptist), and I worked in Dahlonega as a counselor and as a curriculum writer at a therapeutic boarding school for teens until the Lord called me into full-time vocational ministry in 2000.
I was ordained into the gospel ministry in December 2000, and since that time I have served the Lord as an associate pastor at Helen First Baptist Church. I have ministered to youth (2000-2010) and young adults (2010-2014) and have served in a variety of ministerial capacities along the way. In my current role, I focus on administration, communications, and counseling.
Angie and I have been married since 1994. We have two daughters: Sarabeth and Jamie. We have had the great privilege to see both of these girls profess faith in Christ and follow Him in baptism. Our family enjoys music, sports, camping, and being part of the awesome body of believers at Helen First Baptist Church.