Staff

Ryan Perz

Ryan grew up in Pittsburgh, PA where the Lord drew him to faith in Christ in 1996. Prior to coming to Three Rivers in 2018, he pastored a church in Iowa for seven years. He holds degrees from Columbia International University (B.A.) and The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (M.Div.), and has been married to Emily since 2002. They have been blessed with four children. Ryan is an avid Pittsburgh sports fan and enjoys family time, books, good coffee, and the occasional round of golf. His favorite Bible verse is Isaiah 66:1-2.

John Czerwinski

The Lord has graciously allowed John to serve the local church for over 30 years, and until recently, in the area of Worship Arts. He is married to the love of his life, Sharon, whom he met in college, and they have two grown children: Hannah and Jack. Hannah, her husband David, and their daughter August live in the Atlanta area. Jack and his wife Megan make their home near Madison, Wisconsin where he serves as a worship arts director in a local church. A native of the Chicago area, he is quick to tell you about Ron Santo, Walter Payton, Dick Butkus, and his love for coffee.

Xavier Holmes

[Bio forthcoming]

Julie Brunson

Julie graduated from the University of South Carolina Darla Moore School of Business with a finance degree. After working for the State of South Carolina, she was called to serve the body at Three Rivers as financial coordinator in 2020. She and her husband have two beautiful, daughters and live in the Irmo area. In her spare time, she enjoys choreographing routines for local gymnasts and trips to the beach.

Gail Carter

Gail was born and raised in the Columbia/Lexington area. She began attending Three Rivers in 1983. She and her husband, Michael were married in 1984 and have two adult children, Katie and John. Gail became our Children’s Director in 1996. She has a heart for children as well as a love for music and theater. Our Children’s program includes Musical Theater, VBS, Sunday school and Bible Drill. She finds that working with children through these venues offers a variety of opportunities to share Jesus. In her spare time, Gail enjoys working in local theater groups, cooking and visiting Edisto Beach.

Bethanie Johnson

Bethanie grew up in a Christian home and lived in several different states. She met her husband, John, in Iowa and they have been married since 1992. They moved to South Carolina and joined Three Rivers Baptist Church in 1994. They have four grown children: Abigail (husband Mike), Michaela (husband, Hunter), Lydia and Seth and one precious granddaughter. She joined the TRB Staff in 2014 and enjoys serving the Lord and the church body through administration.

Bryan Adams

Bryan is a life-long South Carolinian. After losing his first wife to cancer in 2022, he is now doubly blessed to be married to his beautiful wife, Julie. He has been at TRB since 1991, after which he began leading worship in late 1995. Bryan earned a Masters degree in engineering at the University of South Carolina and later completed his MBA. He worked for a local electronics company until 2018, when he left corporate America. Bryan became an elder in 2014 after serving as a TRB deacon for nearly 20 years. Bryan and Julie are thankful to God for the blessing of TRB in their lives, are grateful for opportunities to serve, and are thankful for how God shows His love to them through the body of Christ.

Judy Wells

Judy has been married to her husband Ben since 1985. She has a Bachelor of Music degree with a concentration in Music Education from Meredith College, in Raleigh, NC. She and Ben moved to Irmo in January of 1989, visiting TRB the first weekend they were here. In time, Emily, Hilary and Carrie were born and Judy concentrated on being a wife, mom and home school teacher for a number of years before joyfully adding Choir Director to her scope of responsibilities in 2002. Her daughters, now all married, continue to add to the family with precious grandchildren.

Paul Cumbers

Paul and his wife Tracy have been part of Three Rivers Baptist Church since the summer of 1990, when they moved to Columbia after two years as missionaries in Bolivia. Born and raised as a missionary kid in Ethiopia, Paul developed a deep appreciation for gospel ministry from an early age. Over the years, he has taken on various leadership roles at TRB and currently serves as a part-time Biblical Counselor. In addition, he works full-time as the Chief Operating Officer of Lighthouse for Life, a local ministry dedicated to combating sex trafficking and serving those impacted by this horrific evil. He and Tracy are grateful for the blessing of four children and three grandchildren.

Ann Graff-Simms

Ann has been a member of Three Rivers for 34 years and has served in counseling ministry for 26 years at TRB with her late husband and Staff Counselor, Rick. Rick went to be with the Lord in 2022. Ann currently serves part-time as the Women’s Staff Counselor. Ann received her counseling training through Faith Baptist Church in Lafayette, Indiana, and has counseled women, as well as provided premarital and marital counseling, for over 29 years. Ann is now married to Dr. Gordon Simms, whose wife Andrea went to be with the Lord in 2021. Ann has two children, and Gordon has three. Together, they have 16 grandchildren and three great-granddaughters. They find great joy in serving Jesus, spending time with family, and traveling.