BJ Donahue

Lead Pastor

Born and raised in Lexington, I attended the University of Kentucky. At UK, I earned an undergraduate degree in Secondary Math Education and Masters in Education. During those years I was heavily involved with UK’s Baptist Campus Ministries where I met my wife, Melissa, to whom I have been married since 2002. After initially teaching at Dunbar HS for a couple years after college, we moved to Louisville so that I could pursue an MDiv in Biblical Studies at Southern Seminary.


Since 2006, I have been in full-time ministry off and on, serving in various roles including: student pastor, administrative pastor, senior pastor, and interim pastor. We returned to northern Kentucky in August 2017 when we accepted the position to join Erlanger Baptist Church.


Melissa and I have five kids, ranging from college to middle school: Joshua, Lauren, Jacob. Lily, and Joseph. I love my family and our church and I'm excited about God's ministry through our faith family as we look to the future together.

Eric Thomason

Associate Pastor & Children's Pastor

As a young person I felt a strong leaning to invest in the lives of children.  I graduated from Vanderbilt University with a Bachelors of Science in Elementary Education & Cognitive Studies fully planning to teach Elementary students for the rest of my life.  


God called me to full-time ministry while I was teaching 1st grade in a public school in Nashville. He confirmed that He wanted me to minister to children and families while I was on staff at a children's camp called Centri-Kid. God further equipped me for His calling during my time at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary where I received a Master of Divinity in Christian Education.

I am blessed to have served in full-time vocational ministry for more than 20 years alongside my amazing wife, Kelli, who God has also called to ministry. With God’s help, we are striving to raise our joy-filled daughter, Caroline, and our son, Corban, so that they love God and embrace Jesus. Together we seek to walk alongside Jesus as He transforms the hearts of children and their families.

Jimmy Cantwell

Worship Leader/Missions Leader

Jimmy grew up in Erlanger, Kentucky and accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior when he was nine years old. At the age of 19, he began going on mission trips and learned how to play the acoustic guitar. It was then that a desire began in him to express his love for Jesus through worship! 

Since that time, he has had the opportunity to learn and grow in his passion for worship, and for worship leading. This growth has come through both personal experiences with God's presence and through ministering His name to people across the nations.

Jimmy has been in ministry since 2013, serving both in multiple worship ministries and through mission efforts in 13 different nations. In 2015, Jimmy met his wife, Naomi, on a mission trip to the Island of Grenada. In 2017, they were married and moved to Dallas, Texas to attend Christ For the Nations Institute where they both received a Bachelors degree in Practical Ministry with a focus in Worship and Missions. 

Jimmy’s heart is to be a man after God's heart. His passion is that both he and others know the true love of God and His desire to dwell with His people. He believes God has commissioned him to steward this desire through musical worship and discipling people to understand His presence, what it means to abide in Him, and all the blessings that come with that intimacy. 

Verses he lives by: 1 John 4, John 15:1-17, Matt 6:9-10, Ps 22:3, Ps 45:1, John 4:23-24, Mark 16:15, 1 Cor 8:2-3, 1 Cor 13

Shane Hufford

Student Leader

Shane grew up in Union, Kentucky and was called to Christ when he was seven. He was heavily involved in church growing up. As he grew in his faith, he also grew in his love for God’s people and God’s Word. Traveling for mission work as a youth inspired him to minister the gospel near and far. At the age of 15 he went to Malawi on mission and came back broken for the whole world. Growing up in northern Kentucky, he had not seen that level of poverty and hopelessness. He wrote a blank check to God upon returning to the US. 

 

Since then, Shane has gone on to Morehead State University where he received his B.A. in Strategic Communication with a focus on Leadership. He was heavily involved in BCM, which allowed the opportunity to develop in leadership over missions and discipleship. After graduating in 2014, he came back to northern Kentucky to work for a few years but was called to Southeastern Seminary in 2017. He moved to Wake Forest to pursue a MDiv in Preaching and Pastoral Ministry.

 

It was at Southeastern Seminary where Shane met his wife, Meredith. They were married in 2018 and Shane moved to Huntington, West Virginia to be with her. Shane has continued his seminary studies online while working in maintenance at Marshall University.

 

Shane and Meredith received a burden for the thousands of children in the foster care system in West Virginia and knew that God was calling them to make a difference in this area. They bought a house in 2019 and began fostering children in their home, seeking to make an impact in the lives of children affected by drugs, abuse and neglect. In all, they have been privileged now to adopt six children into their family.

 

Shane has a passion for discipleship and ministering to youth. He is broken over the lostness he has seen in the foster care system and desires to make generational change in the lives of youth. Shane desires each member of the church to be on mission daily to make an impact for the kingdom. He believes he is to put youth on a path toward daily living out their faith for life.

 

Verses he lives by: 1 John 3:17, Matthew 28:18-20, Nehemiah 8:10, Jeremiah 29:7, 2 Corinthians 5:13-21, James 1:22, James 1:27.

Abby Hepp

Ministry Assistant

Abby grew up in Dayton, Ohio, and came to know Christ at the age of 13. Since then, her life has been marked by a deep desire to know Him more and make Him known to others.


She graduated from Northern Kentucky University with a degree in Biology, where she was deeply involved in the Baptist Campus Ministry (BCM). During her time there, she served as president for two years, faithfully leading and investing in fellow students. Now, she continues to serve on staff as a BCM intern, working especially with international students and helping them encounter the love of Christ.


Abby has a heart for college students and children and longs to see them experience Jesus as their Savior. Through two overseas mission trips, the Lord confirmed her calling to full-time ministry and gave her a deep love for reaching the nations. She desires nothing more than to steward the time God has given her to further His Kingdom and give Him all the glory. She is excited to serve EBC, be a faithful member of the church, and serve her new church family.


Her favorite passage of Scripture is 1 Timothy 1:15–17, a reminder of the mercy of Christ and the glory due to Him alone.

Open Position

Facility Coordinator

Open as of 03/23/26.

Please submit resumes to office@erlangerbaptist.org.

Pam Rice

SonLight Preschool Director

Pam joined our staff during the summer of 2021. As a retired educator and seemingly life-long preschool ministry volunteer at EBC, Pam is a wonderful fit for SonLight and the ministry we have to the young children and families in the Erlanger community and beyond!


Learn more about our SonLight Preschool here.