Don Cole and his wife Edna have been members here since 1996.  Don became an elder in 2006.  Don is a retired Air Force officer, and while in the Air Force, Don and Edna lived in a number of places, both in the United States and abroad.  After retiring from the Air Force, Don became the founding director of the Center for International Peace and Justice at Lipscomb University.  He continues as a Visiting Professor of Political Science at Lipscomb.  Edna is a retired teacher and served as Director of Columbus Christian School from 1997-2004.  Don and Edna, together with Don's brother and sister in law, own Cole's Collections and Cole's on the Corner in Millport, AL.  They have two children.  Their daughter, Emily Monahan, and her family are also members here.  Their son Eric and his family live in Washington, DC.  They require very little encouragement to tell you about their two grandsons -- Cole Monahan and Ryan Cole.  Don and Edna enjoy teaching and trying to ensure that we are all equipped to be the instruments of God's grace both in the church and in the world that we are meant to be.

     Wade was born in Columbus and became a christian while attending Freed Hardemn college in 1966.  He finished his education at Miss State receiving Bachelor degrees in Forestry and Sociology and a Masters in Sociology.  He met and married Gail when she came to Columbus to attend Miss University for Women.  They have three children and six grandchildren.  After a tour in the Army where he served as a chaplain's assistant he worked for the Miss Department of Humans Services as a counselor serving children with emotional and behavioral problems, retiring in 2002.  After retiring Wade and Gail spend two consecutive summers in Tegucigalpa, Honduras teaching at Baxter Institute.  He has also taught Sociology courses at Miss University for Women and is presently teaching part time for East Mississippi Community College.

Les was born in Seminole, TX and lived most of his childhood in West Texas.  In 1979, he moved to Columbus, MS where he started worshiping with the congregation at 7th Street.  It was there that he met and married his best friend, Phyllis Hickman in 1983.  They have been blessed with three loving children: Katy, a 2008 graduate of Freed-Hardeman and currently a 3rd grade teacher at Mobile Christian School; Emily, a freshman at Harding University; and Matthew, a senior at Columbus High
School, who plans on also attending Harding next fall.  Before becoming an elder in 2006, Les served as the deacon over the Children’s Bible School Program.  He and his wife continue to be blessed with the opportunity to teach 2 and 3 year olds about God in Bible class.  Les counts it an honor to shepherd a flock of Christians who continually strive to reflect the love of Christ in their lives.