The Rev. Dr. J. Lewis Johnson - Interim Minister, ljohnson@mbfpc.com - 843.448.4496

Natives of Cynthiana, Kentucky, Dr. J. Lewis Johnson and his wife, Janet Arnold Johnson, were high school sweethearts. Married in 1959 they are the parents of four children: Jan Allison, James Lewis (Jay), Terrence Gene, and Candace Caldwell and grandparents of eleven grandchildren.

A Harrison County High School graduate, Dr. Johnson received a B.A. with major in History and minor in Speech from Georgetown College in 1964; a Master of Divinity from Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary in 1966; and Doctor of Ministry from Lexington Theological Seminary in 1974. He received Interim Pastor Training in 2002-2004. Dr. Johnson has served as Installed Pastor at Lawrenceburg Presbyterian Church, Lawrenceburg, KY; Middlesboro Presbyterian Church, Middlesboro, KY; First Presbyterian Church, Newton, NC; John Knox Presbyterian Church, Greenville, SC; Government Street Presbyterian Church, Mobile, AL; Second Presbyterian Church, Charleston, SC. In the last years before retiring, Dr. Johnson decided to serve as an interim Pastor. He has served four interims since leaving Second Presbyterian Church: Trinity Presbyterian Church, Surfside Beach, SC; Ocean Drive Presbyterian Church, North Myrtle Beach, SC; Bethel Presbyterian Church, Cornelius, NC; Ocean Drive Presbyterian Church, North Myrtle Beach, SC.

Since February of 2010, Dr. & Mrs. Johnson have been at their home in Surfside Beach, SC.

As our work together begins at First Presbyterian Church, it is our task to continue growth as people of faith who are committed to the work that Jesus Christ has for us to do. I will need your love and support. I pledge myself to love and serve you with all my strength and energy. Saying goodbye to yesterday is not easy. Saying hello to today and tomorrow is equally difficult. The only way we can succeed is to proceed together. The past is prelude to the future. Based on this truth I believe we will move on in our journey toward being the congregation God wants us to become. 

The Rev. Carol Pagelsen - Temporary Stated Supply Minister, cpagelsen@mbfpc.com - 843.448.4496

Born and raised as a Southern Baptist in Jackson, Alabama, Carol attended Howard College in Birmingham, Alabama and, after receiving a scholarship, graduated from Rollins College, in Winter Park, Florida. She studied opera at the Akademie Fur Musik in Vienna, Austria: lived in Vienna for three years, worked with the U.S. Information Service and directed the American Opera Workshop, which brought American opera to Eastern European countries. She has maintained her interest in Eastern Europe and has taken several Minister Study Groups to these countries to study the situation of the Roma (gypsies) there.

After returning to the States, she became a soloist at FPC in Orlando, Florida, where she joined the Presbyterian Church and became a candidate for the ministry. She attended and graduated from Louisville Seminary and worked as a psychotherapist for Southern Indiana Mental Health at Madison State Hospital. Her first ordained position was in Neoga, Illinois then Kokomo, Indiana. She became interested in Interim Ministry and received her training through the Synod of Lincoln Trails and Conflict Management through the Albin Institute. She served churches in Indiana, Washington, Texas and California, where in 2000, she met her husband, Dr. John Byer, in Sacramento, California.

Carol and John have been married for 10 years and together have 6 adult children - all married - and 7 grandchildren. "Honorably Retired" in 2007, they moved to North Myrtle Beach, where Carol loves gardening and dancing. She and John have been learning Argentine Tango for several years and have been to Buenos Aires twice. She is a judge for Dancing with the Horry County Stars, which raises money for the Early College High School program and the Long Bay Symphony. She and John have been instrumental in starting the Stephen Ministry program at FPC.

The Rev. Dr. Howard Hansen - Retired, Associate Minister, hhansen@mbfpc.com - 843.448.4496

Reared in China by missionary parents, Howard earned his Associate, Bachelors, Masters, and Doctorates' from Princeton University, University Of Pittsburgh, Nyack College, and Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. He served several churches in Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh area) and New Jersey. Dr. Hansen and his wife, Alice Marie, have three children, L. SuZann, Kevin, and Evan. He now serves as part-time Parish Associate Minister at First Presbyterian.