Elders

Greg Gilbert - Senior Pastor

Greg grew up in a wonderful Christian family, with two parents who love the Lord very much and made sure that he heard the good news of salvation at every opportunity. At 9 years old, he professed faith in Christ as his Dad shared the gospel yet again and he was baptized shortly thereafter. For the next few years, he grew as a Christian, still attending church, and then went to Yale University for undergrad studies. Those were good years spiritually, mostly because he had to learn like never before how to defend his faith. It was also during those years that the Lord began to call him to Christian ministry. After Yale, Greg spent some time serving in a few different churches, went to seminary, got married to Moriah, and had three awesome kids: Justin, Jack, and Juliet. Greg was called to serve Third Avenue Baptist as the Senior Pastor in 2010.

Brandon Shafer - Associate Pastor for Discipleship

Brandon grew up in a church-going family in Oklahoma and heard the gospel regularly at the church they attended. God saved Brandon at age 12 through the faithful witness of one of the members there, and he was baptized shortly after. As a teenager, the Lord called Brandon to Christian ministry. In preparation for that calling, he completed a degree in Biblical Languages from Oklahoma Baptist University and a M.Div. from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Brandon met his wife, Cindy, while he was in seminary, and they married in 2007. They worked with refugees in Greece for several years before returning to Oklahoma to serve at a local church. In August 2018, Brandon became the Associate Pastor For Discipleship at Third Avenue. Brandon and Cindy are blessed with four wonderful children.

Mike Carnicella - Associate Pastor for Administration

Mike grew up in Zionsville, IN, a suburb on the north side of Indianapolis. After high school he headed up the road to West Lafayette, to begin college at Purdue University (boiler up!). In God's kind providence, Mike met his wife, Lindsey, and they were both baptized and married at Kossuth Street Baptist Church in Lafayette, IN. From there, Mike and Lindsey headed down the road to Louisville for work and seminary. God was kind again to lead Mike and Lindsey to Third Avenue, in 2010. Time spent in Louisville and at Third Avenue has been very formative. Mike has worn many hats at Third Avenue, starting out as Pastoral Assistant, then Administrative Assistant, then Administrator, and now Associate Pastor for Administration. Mike is excited about what God is doing at Third Avenue and looks forward to the days ahead. Mike enjoys spending free time reading fiction, climbing things, and giggling with his three kids, Leo, Lucia, and Luca.

Justin Woods - Associate Pastor for Counseling

Justin grew up in a church-going family in Bryant, Arkansas. God saved him during his teenage years through the faithful witness of men in his local church. Justin first met his wife, Mary, when they were teenagers in their church youth group. They were married in 2007 and moved to Louisville in 2009. Justin spent 14 years as a teacher in the local public school system. He started serving as an elder at Third Avenue in 2021 and came on staff as the Associate Pastor for Counseling in 2023. Justin and Mary are blessed with two wonderful children, Wilder and Lottie.

Alex Duke - Elder

Alex grew up in Louisville. God saved him at an early age while he attended Southeast Christian Church and was surrounded by several faithful disciplers. Upon graduating from Christian Academy of Louisville, he studied Mass Communications and Creative Writing at Western Kentucky University. He started at Southern Seminary in 2012 and received his M.Div in 2017. From 2017 to 2019, Alex and his family lived in New York City, where he happily served as the youth pastor of North Shore Baptist Church in Bayside, Queens. Alex works full-time as the managing editor for 9Marks, a position he's held since 2014. Alex and Melanie currently live in Audubon Park, and they're blessed with both a daughter and a son: Elliot (b. 2015) and John (b. 2018). Go Cards.

John Lovett - Elder

John grew up in a loving, church-going family in western Kentucky. At 12 years of age, however, John rejected Christianity, and began what he describes as a “misspent youth.” He rebelled against his parents, and mocked Christians throughout his teenage years. As part of a Western Civilization class, John read portions of the Old and New Testaments in college. This exposure convinced him that God, not humans, must have originated the Bible’s teaching. Yet, John had no interest in changing his life to follow Christ. Within a year, however, his sins began to find him out. At this time, Mack Stiles, a friend of John’s brother, shared the Gospel with John. In His mercy, God made John finally willing to embrace it. John has now trusted his life and eternity to Jesus Christ for over 40 years (II Cor. 5:21). After Jesus, God’s best gift to John is his wife, Melissa. John and Melissa have four adult daughters and eight grandchildren. John practices law in Louisville.

Ryan Robertson - Elder

Ryan joined Third Avenue in 2018 with his wife, Erin, who serves as the Director of Children’s Ministry. They have three great kids: Avery (’07), Callum (’09), and Reagan (’11). He grew up in a Christian home where he was faithfully taught the gospel. By God’s grace, he was saved at a young age and was baptized shortly thereafter. Ryan attended Liberty University and Texas A&M – Corpus Christi and is currently enrolled in the Doctor of Missiology program at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He serves as the President of Reaching & Teaching, a missions agency that serves local churches as they send missionaries around the world to make mature disciples, establish healthy churches, and train local leaders.

Alisson Arruda - Elder

Alisson is from Recife, Brazil, and he had the privilege to hear the Gospel at a young age. Through God's sovereign grace, God gave Alisson new life in Christ in his teenage years. By God’s providence, Alisson came to the United States to study in college. He met his wonderful wife, Christina, during college, and they got married after their graduation. After college, he spent two years working as a youth director in Albuquerque, NM. Then, they came to Louisville in 2007 and joined Third. While in Louisville, Alisson graduated from seminary, and God blessed Alisson and Christina with three lovely daughters: Sophia, Isabella, and Victoria. Alisson prays for the members of Third to grow in their love and knowledge of God and to make disciples of all nations for God's glory.

John Hamilton - Elder

John is from Louisville and growing up his parents were faithful to teach him about Jesus and to take him to Southeast Christian Church where he was baptized at 9 years old. John found his college years to be particularly formative in his theology and love for the local church while attending Western Kentucky University. In college, John met his wife (Madi) and the two were married in 2013 and spent the next 4 years together in working at a church plant in San Francisco. John and his family (children: Abel, Wendell & Jack) love their church, good food and Kentucky sports. John is the Executive Director of a non-profit and serves as the elder over music.

Sam Crosby - Elder

Edward Heinze - Elder

Edward was born into a family of strong Christian heritage and was blessed with parents who put a premium on the submission to Christ and devotion to the local church. At the age of 14, under the evangelistic influence of a faithful basketball coach, he was convicted of his sin and his need for a Savior, and he professed faith in Christ. After serving the Lord in the secular business world for 15 years, God called him into pastoral ministry. Believing the call to ministry is a call to prepare, he enrolled at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and completed his M.Div. degree in 2012. Edward has served as a pastor in three other churches and presently serves in the office of Institutional Advancement at Southern Seminary. Edward and his wife Jennifer married in 1995, and they have two married children.

Joel Lind - Elder

Joel grew up hearing the gospel from a young age both from his parents and church. He trusted Christ at a young age and by God's grace, saw growth in his walk with Jesus through middle school, high school and especially college. After graduating he spent 2 years in Asia sharing the gospel with an unreached people group. Joel came to Louisville in 2010, where he joined Third Avenue Baptist Church shortly after. He was married to his wonderful wife Brittany in 2012 and since then they have added 5 amazing kids to their home, 2 biological, 2 adopted, and 1 through foster care.