Leadership

Pastor Samples was born and raised in Ripley, West Virginia, where he trusted Christ as Savior and surrendered his life to God's call to preach the gospel.  Pastor Samples trained for the ministry in Knoxville, Tennessee at the Crown College of the Bible and Crown Seminary. He and his family came to Florida in 2018 after Grace Baptist Church called him to be their pastor.  Since that time, the ministry of Grace Baptist Church has purchased acreage, built a beautiful church building for the ministry, and are continuing to launch new efforts to reach out into the world with the Gospel of Christ.

Charles Prescott was born in Miami, and raised in Longwood, Florida. He trusted Christ as his savior as a teenager in Longwood, FL and later attended Tennessee Temple Schools to train for the ministry. Charles earned a bachelor’s degree in Christian School Education History from Landmark Baptist College. He also completed a master’s degree in business from Troy University, a master’s degree in ministry from Crown Seminary and a PhD in Education from Capella University. Charles spent the last decade serving on the staff of the Crown College as CFO as well as VP of Finance, Dean of School of Business, and Dean of the Graduate Education program.
Charles met and married his wife Charlene in Longwood, Florida. They have three children and two grandchildren. The Lord called him back to his hometown of Debary, Florida in August of 2022 to assist Pastor Jacob Samples with Grace Baptist Church of Debary. He brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to assist Pastor Samples in expanding the ministry of Grace Baptist Church.