Justin had the privilege of serving as a pastor to children, youth, and families for more than a decade. He was the lead pastor at a church in Washington state for more than eight years prior to beginning as the lead pastor at Lakeside. He has a heart for serving King Jesus. It is his hope that every Christian will pursue Christ above all else and that many people would encounter the living Jesus through interactions with Christ-followers.
Justin is a husband to Dorothy and a dad to three beautiful young ladies and one incredible young man. The Howe family spent about five years in the DFW area while he attended Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. They are excited to be back in Texas. He loves speaking about Jesus in the church and the community. As a speaker, he would be disappointed if he ever took the exciting Word of God and made it sound boring.
He enjoys hanging out outdoors, playing sports or coaching, and going for walks with his wife. It wouldn’t be shocking to find him with a cup of coffee and talking with someone about life and their relationship with Jesus.
"I pursue as my goal the prize promised by God’s heavenly call in Christ Jesus."
Philippians 3:14
Carlton grew up near Paris, Texas on a cotton farm. He is the youngest of five children. He has been on staff at Lakeside since 2010.
Carlton was married to Rita Mayo in 1968 in Arlington, TX. Rita is a volunteer with Hope Pregnancy Center in Canton; leads a Post Abortion Bible Study; and is a leader in the Lakeside Baptist Women’s Ministry. Together they have 3 Children & 13 Grandchildren.
Carlton has a BA in Math from Texas State University; Master of Divinity, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He also served in the U. S. Air Force from 1967 – 1971 as a computer programmer in medical research.
Pets: Gretchen, a grouchy 15 year old dachshund
Ken and Andrea Sims are originally from Houston. They surrendered to the call to ministry in 2009. God’s path for their ministry has led them from Houston to Grand Saline to Livingston and now to Canton. Ken and Andrea have been married since 1997. They have two amazing children, Hope and Levi.
Ken is called by God to the Gospel ministry. Worship ministry is the creative outlet God has allowed in Ken’s life to facilitate and fulfill that calling. For Ken, worship is such a passion because it’s training us all for our eternal purpose. He looks forward to one day bowing to worship in the holy presence of the Father.
Ken’s vision for the worship at Lakeside is one of spiritual depth and doctrinal truth. He puts less emphasis on “how” we worship but instead focuses the church rightly on “who” we worship. Ken’s plan for this vision is to build strong personal relationships within the church and then draw those hearts ever closer to the One who is worthy of all worship.
Originally from Hanceville, Alabama, Alex has spent most of his life near his hometown. He began serving in ministry in 2014 in various capacities all over Alabama and in Donegal, Ireland. He served as Youth Pastor at a baptist church in Garden City, Alabama for 3 years prior to joining the Lakeside Church family. He graduated from Southeastern Bible College in 2016 with a Bachelors in Bible and Theology with a minor in Youth Ministry. He continues to be passionate about sharing his love of Jesus with students!
He and his wife Jenny were married in May of 2021 and love going on walks and hikes with their dog Koda. Alex also really enjoys playing guitar and listening to the vinyl records he has collected. Alex and Jenny are both excited to make Canton their new home!
What really excites Alex about student ministry is the opportunity to share Jesus with young people and being able to help students grow in their faith. He also seeks to engage the whole family in the discipleship of their teenagers. Alex has a strong belief that the purpose of youth ministry is to support and encourage parents to take an active role in the discipleship of their child. He loves being both a friend and a mentor to teenagers as they go through some of the most challenging and important years of their lives.
Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen - Ephesians 3:20-21
Paula has loved being a part of the Body of Christ at Lakeside for the last 20 years. She and her husband Tony have raised three girls, Meagan, Mallory and Michele and made the community of Lakeside an important part of that. After serving her family as a stay at home mom for 27 years she joined the support staff of Lakeside in 2017 as an office assistant and as loved every day of it.
Paula came to surrender her life to Jesus, accepting His work on the cross and His resurrection for her complete redemption at the age of 17, after being raised in church. She has served in many ministries here at Lakeside, from the music ministry to the children’s ministry and then teaching adult Women’s Bible Studies. She absolutely loves teaching God’s Word, and is grateful for every opportunity she is given to do so. She has served the Lord because He is worthy and because of His miraculous work in her life. Paula seeks to show God’s love to people that they might in return absolutely fall into a deep love relationship with their Lord.
2 Corinthians 5:16-19
From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.
Nina is a wife to James Green; a mother to 3 beautiful children Michael, Samantha, and Zoey; and a grandmother to Eveangeline. She was not raised in church but after moving to Canton in 2011 she started attending Lakeside. One night in her bed over the bible she broke down and accepted Christ into her heart. She was baptized at Lakeside and began serving wherever she could.
She is looking forward to all the new ways she will be able to serve God and His people through this new opportunity.
The verse that she holds onto every day is Ephesians 3:20-21 “to Him who by the action of His power that is at work within us, is able to carry out His purpose and do far over and above all that we dare ask or think infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, hopes or dreams, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations for ever and ever. Amen.”
“God took a nobody sinner like me and changed my life. He was there long before I even knew who He was, and beyond anything I could comprehend, He uses me to serve His people. I am beyond blessed to be His.”-Nina
Kim grew up in the Fruitvale/Grand Saline area. She has 6 children; Justin, Jeremy, Lucas, Heather, Kaitlin and Kassie and 5 grandchildren; Ryken, Luke, Amelia, Brinley and Cooper.
Kim married Jason in April 1996. They have been living in Canton since 2006 and joined Lakeside in 2012. Before becoming part of the staff at Lakeside she worked for the Canton School District as substitute teacher and a P.E. Aid.
Her greatest love first and foremost is serving Jesus Christ. She also enjoys spending time with her family.
Kim's hobbies include: going to movies, shopping and fishing.
Mark moved to Canton his freshman year in high school from Houston. He and his wife Taryn met at Lakeside and have been married for over 25 years. They are proud parents of three beautiful children. Nate, Meg and Grace.Mark enjoys spending time with family and playing the guitar. He also enjoys sharing Jesus to those he encounters and has a passion of sharing the importance of commitment in marriage to those who are struggling.
Melody is a follower of Jesus, wife to Shane, homeschool mom to four, and the general chaos manager of the family schedule, businesses, and farm. Melody grew up in Montana, attended Grace College and Theological Seminary in Indiana, met her husband in Colorado, and moved to Texas in 2016.
Serving in ministry has been an integral part of Melody's life since youth. She has served in numerous churches over the years by teaching Sunday School, playing the piano and singing on praise teams, leading youth groups, bible studies, and in Awana. She has also spent multiple years serving as a summer missionary at Trails End Ranch, a Christian camp in SE Montana.
Melody has a diverse professional background which includes experience in event planning, marketing and sales, office management, graphic design, curriculum development, and more! Since moving to Texas, she and her brother have dabbled in flipping houses.
Melody's heart's desire is to know Christ and to make him known. She is excited to serve as the Interim Children's Ministry Director at Lakeside and hopes to instill the children with a solid, biblical based foundation, a love for Jesus, and a passion to serve others.