Rev. Bert Breland 

bert@fbcmadison.net

Rev. Bert Breland began his role as Pastor at First Baptist Madison on April 1, 2012. He moved to Madison from the Birmingham area where he served as pastor of First Baptist Church of Irondale. Previous pastorates include First Baptist Church of Jacksonville, Alabama, South Roebuck of Birmingham and churches in Kentucky and Mississippi. Bert was born in Columbia, Mississippi but raised on the Mississippi gulf coast. He is a graduate of Mississippi College with a degree in Biblical Studies and Psychology; he holds the Master of Divinity degree from the The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary of Louisville, Kentucky. He is married to René Burkes Breland who grew up in Pascagoula, Mississippi and is a graduate of Samford University. Bert and René have three children and four grandchildren, all living in Birmingham.Both Bert and René have their mothers, Audrey and Laurie, living with them. The Brelands live in Madison in the Park Meadow community and love their new home, new town and new church community!

Carrie Dickerson

Minister of Children

carrie@fbcmadison.net

Carrie Dickerson is the children’s minister at First Baptist Madison. She first began ministering here in September 2007 after having been a member for 15 years. She was officially called in April 2008. She is married to Russ Dickerson and has 3 children: Joey, Bonnie, and Jay. She loves caring for and teaching children. Children bring a fresh and exciting point of view to the studying of God’s Word. Carrie believes that active worship, Bible study, missions, and fellowship are beneficial for those of all ages in gaining an understanding of who God is, what He says in His Bible, and what His plan is. Her goal is to provide opportunities for these experiences for all children.

Mark Gessner

Minister of Music

mark@fbcmadison.net

Mark Gessner was raised in Port St. Lucie, Florida and grew up attending First Baptist Church of Ft. Pierce. While attending The University of Florida, Mark was active at the Baptist Campus Ministry and served two different summers as a student missionary (in Key West in 1979 and in Singapore in 1980). Mark graduated from The University of Florida in 1982 with a degree in Music Performance (French Horn) and continued his education at Southern Seminary where he received a Master’s of Church Music degree in 1986. During his time in seminary he served First Southern Baptist Church in Clarksville, IN. In 1987 Mark was hired by First Baptist Madison as the Minister of Music. Mark has played Fourth Horn in the Huntsville Symphony Orchestra for twenty years, has taught private French horn lessons to many students in the Madison City School System, and has directed such musical works with our youth choir as Godspell, and Joseph And The Coat of Many Colors.

Rev. Mary Jo Gessner

Minister of Pastoral Care

mjgessner@fbcmadison.net

Rev. Mary Jo Gessner, born and raised in Miami, Florida, received a Bachelor of Music Education degree from the University of Florida in 1982 and a Master of Divinity degree from Southern Seminary in 1986. Rev. Gessner began serving First Baptist Madison in 1987 as Minister of Youth, was licensed in 1990, and was ordained to the Gospel Ministry in 2007. After serving as Minister of Youth for 21 years, Rev. Gessner began serving our congregation as Minister of Pastoral Care in July of 2008. She is a Certified Pastoral Counselor with the American Association of Pastoral Counselors and presently recruits and organizes the volunteer Chaplains for our new Madison Hospital. She and her husband, Mark Gessner, have two grown children: Jessye Gaines (married to Luke Gaines), who teaches in the Engineering Academy at Bob Jones High School, and Harris, a graduate student in Choral Conducting at Emory University.

Diana Farrell White

Minister of Youth

diana@fbcmadison.net

Diana has been the Minister of Youth since June 2008. Diana first felt the calling into the ministry in the sixth grade. She is a 2008 graduate of the McAfee School of Theology (Mercer University) in Atlanta where she received her Master of Divinity. She is also a 2005 graduate of Samford University with a BA in Interior Design and a minor in Art. Diana is a 2001 graduate of Bob Jones High School. She previously served on the ministerial staffs at Vineville Baptist Church in Macon, GA as interim youth minister as well as the First Baptist Church of Griffin, GA as Middle School Minister. She worked with PASSPORT Youth Mission Camp in the summers of 2003 and 2004 as videographer and Bible Study/Mission Leader respectively. She lives in Madison with her husband Brian (the ultimate ministry volunteer) and her daughter Zelda! Diana has a passion for many things including painting, reading, being crafty, board games, movies and going to concerts with her husband! She rarely has time for these above activities because she spends most of her free time feeding her baby and changing her baby's diapers ( all worth it) !!!