Rev. Louden Young came to New Providence as the Associate Pastor of Emerging Generations and Mission in August of 2019. He is a graduate of Maryville College (Class of ‘12, BLA in Philosophy) and Columbia Theological Seminary (Class of ‘19, M.Div. and M.A.P.T. in Christian Education). New Providence is his first ordained call as a pastor; previously, he served in various capacities at Decatur Presbyterian Church (as a general intern and adult adviser for the youth program) and First Presbyterian Church Asheville (as an adult advisor for the youth program). Most recently, he served as the chaplain at the Central Outreach and Advocacy Center in Downtown Atlanta, an organization dedicated to eliminating the experience of homelessness in Atlanta. While he was at Maryville College, Louden met his wife Elizabeth (’13). She will be graduating from Mercer University in December 2019 with a Master degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. Louden enjoys cooking, games, talking sports, and any outdoor activity you can think of.

Rev. Dr. Stan Rushing has been a member of the staff since April 2008. He serves part-time, working closely with Gloria Mencer, visiting members who are hospitalized, in retirement communities, assisted living facilities, nursing homes, or rehabilitation facilities. He also visits senior members who still live at home. Stan is a native of Mississippi. He is a graduate of Mississippi College (B.A and M.S.) and New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary (M.Div. and Ph.D.). He was a Baptist pastor for eighteen years, serving churches in Mississippi and Tennessee. Later he became certified as a marriage and family therapist and as a hospital chaplain. The last twelve years before his retirement, he served in these capacities in Jackson, Mississippi.

Rob Britt has been serving as Director of Music at New Providence Presbyterian Church since August 1987. Prior to accepting the position at NPPC, he served two years at Emmanuel United Methodist Church in Hagerstown, Maryland, and three years at Bearden United Methodist Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. Rob’s educational background includes a Bachelor of Music Education from Shenandoah College and Conservatory of Music in Winchester, Virginia, a Master of Music in Choral Conducting from the University of Tennessee, and a Master of Education in Administration and Supervision from Lincoln Memorial University. Rob’s major college conducting teachers include Dr. David Stutzenberger, Dr. James H. Laster and Mr. Robert Shaffer. Post graduate studies were completed at the Choral Institute at Cambridge University in Cambridge, England where he studied with John Rutter, Sir David Willcocks, Barry Rose, Joshua Rifken, and Steven Cleobury. As a professional educator, Rob has been serving the Blount County Schools since August 1986 and has held positions as a choral music teacher and assistant principal at William Blount High School, and founding principal at Carpenters Middle School. Presently, Rob serves as the Superintendent of Schools for Blount County Schools. Rob is married to Liz Britt, who teaches music at the Webb School of Knoxville, and they have three wonderful children: Robbie, Rachel and Reece.

Peggy Rogers has been at New Providence for 26 years! Currently Peggy serves as our organist and director of youth and adult handbells. Peggy grew up in Alcoa and graduated from Maryville College with a major in Organ Performance In addition to accompanying and directing handbells at New Providence, Peggy teaches private piano and organ lessons and is the choral accompanist for William Blount High School and for MAACO. Peggy is an extraordinarily gifted organist and pianist whose beautiful music enhances our worship services week after week. All who know Peggy appreciate her ability to remain unruffled, her willingness to accompany musicians of all kinds and abilities, and her dry sense of humor. We are truly fortunate to have someone with Peggy’s extensive experience and keen understanding of music at New Providence.

Trish Badgett was born in Ft. Worth, Texas, and raised in Maryville. She has a BS in Nursing from East Tennessee State University and a certificate in Parish Nursing from Vanderbilt University. She had experience in hospital nursing, home health, and legal nurse consulting prior to coming to New Providence as Parish Nurse and Director of Bartlett Adult Day Out Program. Trish and her husband, Tim, have two sons: Clark and Thomas.

Ray Bryant joined New Providence in 2000 as a night custodian and after years of learning, gaining certifications and hard work is the Facility Manager. Ray maintains the buildings and grounds while directing staff and overseeing the upkeep of equipment and supplies. He makes sure the buildings and grounds are maintained, which entails daily and weekly cleaning schedules as well as determining and scheduling repairs, renovation projects, waste reduction improvements and safety inspections. Ray also negotiates with outside vendors for supplies, repairs and other measures.

Penny Bever joined New Providence Presbyterian Church on October 13, 2014, as the Business Administrator. She has spent more than 15 years of progressively responsible experience in Office Management to include Human Resource and Finance.

As the Office Manager for a local Knoxville church, she was responsible for all day to day administration and assistance in business and office management decisions. Penny was also Manager of Finance and Human Resource for a non-profit in Knoxville for almost 13 years. She helped to lead the company through start-up, survival, turnaround and growth modes.

Prior to this, Penny worked with the DOD U.S. Army, Europe Headquarters in Frankfurt and then Heidelberg, Germany which encompassed more than 30,000 soldiers and civilians. There she spent 7 years as the Executive Office Supervisor for G3 at Headquarters V Corps. During that time, she worked closely with the integral network of soldiers and civilians maintaining many diversified responsibilities that required knowledge of varied military functions, policies and procedures. Her husband, Brion, is now a retired Army veteran.

Penny loves photography, nature and along with her husband, pamper their 6 fur babies – 4 Pugs and 2 Boston Terriers who love to go camping with them or just a nice long car ride. SCUBA diving is a hobby for both Penny and Brion when they have the time.

She studied at Southwestern Community College with a focus in environmental science.

Maddie McCullough has served at New Providence since 2020, when she began as an Interim FirstLight Music Coordinator. Now, Maddie and her husband, Jordan, serve as music coordinators for our early morning worship service, The Circle. Maddie began her new role in February of 2023 as Communications Director.

Maddie graduated from Maryville College in 2018 with a BA in History, and received her MEd from Lincoln Memorial University in 2022. Before moving into her role as Communications Director, Maddie taught high school history and worked at Maryville College as a Financial Aid Counselor. Maddie loves playing music, reading books, and backpacking!

To send us pictures, submit information about an event, send an item for the bulletin or enews, or to reserve a space for your event, please contact our Communications Director at the email link at left.