First Presbyterian Church | Yazoo City, MS

Meet Our Staff

We are currently searching for a new senior pastor. Our pulpit committee is accepting applications, which may be submitted to gaustin933@gmail.com.

In the meantime, we have several wonderful ministers filling our pulpit.

dr. derek w. h. thomas• morning worship Pulpit supply

Chancellor’s Professor RTS

Teaching Fellow with Ligonier Ministries

Dr. Derek Thomas became Senior Minister of First Presbyterian Church in Columbia, South Carolina on August 11, 2013. He originally joined the staff in 2011, coming from Jackson, Mississippi, where he was Chairman of the Theology Department at Reformed Theological Seminary (RTS) and Minister of Teaching at First Presbyterian Church. He is from Wales. Dr. Thomas is a graduate of the University of Wales (B.Sc.), Reformed Theological Seminary (M.Div), and University of Wales/Lampeter (Ph.D.). He was ordained in the Evangelical Church of Ireland, where he served Stranmillis Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Belfast for 17 years before going to Jackson, Mississippi. Dr. Thomas served the next sixteen years in Jackson, MS, as a professor of theology at RTS Jackson, and Minister of Teaching at the historic First Presbyterian Church.

Currently, Dr. Thomas is a Chancellor’s Professor RTS and a Teaching Fellow with Ligonier Ministries. He is also a well-published author. Dr. Thomas is married to Rosemary. They have two adult children and two grandchildren.
dr. j. ligon duncan, iii • morning worship pulpit supply

Chancellor & CEO • John E. Richards Professor of Systematic and Historical Theology • President, RTS Jackson

Dr. J. Ligon Duncan III is the Chancellor & CEO of Reformed Theological Seminary and the John E. Richards Professor of Systematic and Historical Theology. He is also currently serving as President of RTS Jackson. He served as Senior Minister of the historic First Presbyterian Church (1837) in Jackson, Miss. for 17 years (1996-2013). He is co-founder of Together for the Gospel, Senior Fellow of the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (having served as both Chairman of the Board and President), and was President of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals from 2004-2012. Duncan served as the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America (2004-2005).

He studied at Furman University, Greenville, SC (BA); Covenant Theological Seminary, St. Louis (MDiv, MA, cum laude); and the University of Edinburgh, Scotland (Ph.D.). Duncan has edited, written, and contributed to numerous books.

Ligon and his wife Anne reside in Jackson, Miss. They have two adult children.
dr. guy l. richardson • morning worship pulpit supply

President Emeritus • Adjunct Professor of Counseling

Adjunct Faculty | Jackson

Dr. Guy L. Richardson is President Emeritus (1999-2020) of the Jackson campus of Reformed Theological Seminary and Adjunct Professor of Counseling on the Jackson campus.

Dr. Richardson received his undergraduate degree in Business Administration from Auburn University in 1972. He later earned three graduate degrees: a Masters of Christian Education from Reformed Theological Seminary (1977), a Masters of Education in Counseling from Georgia State University (1980), and his doctorate in Counselor Education from Auburn University (1983). In 1987 he was ordained as a minister in the Presbyterian Church in America.

Dr. Richardson is also a licensed professional counselor (LPC). For over twelve years he served as the director for two church-based professional Christian counseling ministries: the first in Augusta, Georgia; and the second, in Montgomery, Alabama. In 1996 he and his family moved to Newark, Delaware where, for three years he was the interim pastor for Evangelical Presbyterian Church. After finishing that work, he moved to Mississippi in 1999 to assume leadership for the Jackson campus of Reformed Theological Seminary. He has been married for 36 years to the former Denise White of Birmingham, Alabama. They have two adult daughters, Katie, married to Nathan Moore, and Joy. His hobbies have included collecting old Bibles and maps, and when he has a rare day away from his other work, he enjoys building furniture in his woodshop.
mr. james "bebo" elkin • Evening worship pulpit supply

Executive Director/Consultant

Consulting Services Foundation

James (Bebo) Elkin, by God’s blessing, has been committed to Christ and His Church for 62 years. Bebo and his wife, Jan, have been married for 50 years, and are the parents of three children and grandparents of four.

Bebo pursued graduate work early in his career (BA, MDiv, MA, ThM), followed by serving as headmaster of a Christian school, and decades of service with the campus ministry of the Presbyterian Church in America, Reformed University Fellowship (RUF). Through the years, he has been an adjunct professor at Reformed Theological Seminary (Jackson and Charlotte), Covenant Theological Seminary, and Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary. During those years as area coordinator for RUF, he spent a lot of time not only teaching but counseling and coaching seminary students with regard to their future ministries. He has been a Ruling Elder at First Presbyterian Church in Jackson, MS, for nearly 30 years. Since 2011, Bebo has been Executive Director of Consulting Services Foundation.
LINDSEY AUSTIN • ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT

Lindsey Austin has served First Presbyterian Church of Yazoo City as the Administrative Assistant since August 2016.

She lived in Yazoo City and attended Covenant Christian School and Manchester until she moved to Lexington, Mississippi in the 8th grade. She graduated High School from Central Holmes Christian School in 2001 and went on to get her Bachelor's degree in Nursing from the University of Mississippi in 2005, (Hotty Toddy!) Several months after having her first child, she decided to become a stay-at-home mother. She has one son and two daughters with her husband, Gary Austin.
Lindsey's favorite hobby is deer hunting. She also enjoys fishing, reading, watching Ole Miss football and spending time with family and friends.
Sharon Gilder • pianist

Sharon Gilder is the pianist at First Presbyterians Church of Yazoo City.
The Gilders came to FPC in 1990, and shortly thereafter Sharon began playing the piano part-time. It quickly turned into a full-time position, which she has held for over 30 years. She loves the music of our church and sang in the choir for years.

Sharon has loved the piano since she started lessons in the fourth grade. She began playing at school and church in the tenth grade. Other than some short-term absences, she has rarely missed a Sunday on the piano bench.

Earning a Bachelor of Science Degree at the University of Southern Mississippi, Sharon worked in the medical field – later becoming office manager at the Yazoo City Medical Clinic. She transitioned to education, working first as a classroom teacher and later becoming the Principal of Covenant Christian School in Yazoo City. Sharon and her husband, David, are blessed with three wonderful children and six beautiful grandchildren.