PHIL COURSON
SENIOR PASTOR
Phil Courson serves as Senior Pastor of Abundant Grace. He and his wife Kay have been married since 1982. They have five children and a growing number of grandchildren. Phil has been involved with full-time ministry since 1986, and began Abundant Grace in 1997 after serving on the pastoral team of Metro Life Church in Orlando, Florida for 7 years.
He and Kay have a passion for Jesus Christ, a love for people, a heart for the local church and a desire for the city of Gainesville and surrounding communities to “experience and express the glory of Christ.”
Email Phil at philc@liveabundantgrace.com
TADDY SCHMITT
WORSHIP PASTOR
Taddy’s full name is Thaddaeus Schmitt.He was born and raised in Kassel, Germany. He started with his first music lessons at the age of 6. While at a Christian camp in his teens, he met God for the first time and never looked back! He paired his love for music and his love for Jesus and began leading worship every chance he got! When he was 20, he went on his first missions trip with Youth With A Mission (YWAM). During this time, God solidified a call on Taddy’s life to step into full time ministry. Taddy completed multiple ministry training schools with YWAM Denver.
Taddy is passionate about building kingdom community, loving people, and telling them about his amazing healer, deliverer, friend, God and Savior Jesus Christ!
Taddy and his wife Ariel have been married since 2004.
They have 3 children.
Email Taddy at taddys@liveabundantgrace.com
RICK APPLEGATE
PASTOR
Rick serves Abundant Grace as a bi-vocational pastor. He has been part of the church since 2002, moving to Gainesville from Indiana where he had served as a pastor from 1993-2002. His responsibilities include preaching, adult Bible study classes and giving oversight to our Youth and Community Group leaders. Rick is a gifted communicator and has a passion for God's Word. He and his wife Lettie have two adult children, Isaac and Kaitlin.
Email Rick at ricka@liveabundantgrace.com
LUKE WILLIAMS
STAFF DIRECTOR
Luke has been attending abundant grace since 2020 and currently serves as a lay elder. He enjoys supporting the pastoral team in a variety of ways: through Sunday morning services, weekly community groups, and church events. You can typically find him in the tech booth, however, as a lay elder, he has recently stepped into a teaching role. He has a passion for the local church, and enjoys engaging with members to encourage them along in their walk with Christ. He and his wife, Caroline, live in Southwest Gainesville, where they are now raising their first child, Caleb.
Email Luke at lukew@liveabundantgrace.com
ZACH COURSON
YOUTH DIRECTOR
LIZA APPLEGATE
CHILDREN'S DIRECTOR
