Brian Bradford – Lead Pastor
Brian Bradford is the lead pastor of Horizons Church. He is married to Shannon, and they have 2 beautiful girls, Halle (4 years) and Lily (1+ year)! Pastor Brian was born in Alexandria, LA and spent the early years of his life in Rockwall, TX. He has an undergraduate degree in Religion and Political Science from Indiana Wesleyan University, a Master’s of Divinity degree from Asbury Theological Seminary, and a Doctorate of Ministry degree with the Beeson Pastor Program from ATS as well. Before arriving at Horizons, he was the senior high youth pastor at Spring Lake Wesleyan Church in Spring Lake, Michigan and the college and young adults pastor at College Wesleyan Church in Marion, Indiana. Apart from the Wesleyan church, Brian has also ministered across denominational lines in The Church of God (Anderson), Non-Denominational churches, and The Christian Church. Apart from the local church, he has also served in the academy as an adjunct faculty member in the religion department at IWU, where he taught classes in New Testament.
Personally, Pastor Brian loves spending Saturday mornings with his girls eating pancakes and playing in the park or at the mall. His passion in life is to see lost people come to Christ. As a result of this heart for the lost and his gift of outreach, he frequently preaches at numerous camps and retreats across the country as has done so for over 10 years. In general, Brian loves people and loves traveling, as he has ventured to such countries as South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, China, Croatia, Mexico, Italy, England, Scotland, Ireland, Czech Republic, and Tanzania in East Africa, He is a die-hard LSU and New Orleans sports fan, as well as a Cubs fan by marriage. He is excited to serve as Horizons’ second lead pastor.
Jason Kelley – Worship Leader
Jason Kelley is excited to be the worship director for Horizons Church. He has had experience leading worship for almost ten years at various churches across Texas. But experience doesn’t mean anything unless there is a real passion behind the music. One thing Jason cannot do is “hold back” when it comes to praising God. He has a heart for worship that is unceasing. Jason also leads worship at Serenity Church on Saturday nights with the band, NO REGRETS, and has been able to release several original songs on two albums.
During worship, Jason believes that it is important not only to incorporate well-known Christian songs, but also to share original lyrics and tunes that come straight from the heart of what the church family is experiencing at the time. Through his songs, Jason tries to convey to everyone that God has complete joy in calling us HIS children, regardless of what we have done in the past, and that HIS love for us has always been there and will always be there.
Being surrounded by his beautiful wife, and four wonderfully-made children is what Jason enjoys the most. Whenever he’s not doing music “stuff”, it’s wrestling with the kids, playing games with the kids, reading books with the kids, riding bikes with the kids, etc… or even an occasional date with his wife, Jessica, that makes life worth living. Come be a part of his family at Horizons Church!!
Chad Lowe – Youth Pastor
Chad is the Youth Pastor at Horizons and simply loves students. He has served in the local church ever since his teen years, and his passion is to see students develop a huge heart for God and His purposes in their life. He is currently working on finishing up his bachelor’s degree in Youth Ministry through Indiana Wesleyan University. A native Texan, Chad is married to Misty, and they have two children, Jolie and Christian.
Katie Besly – Family Life Director
Katie Besly has called Horizons her church home for over three years. However, she has just joined our staff within the last year. She serves in many capacities, but her main roles include providing oversight to the children, the women, and the special events of Horizons. She and her husband, Jason, have been married for eleven years and have a sweet, six year-old daughter named Emma. Katie is also a licensed professional counselor, an avid gardener, and most importantly, a native Texan! Her passions in ministry are helping people discover who God created them to be and equipping them to live out their faith with intention and authenticity.
Courtney Hughes – Ministry Coordinator
Courtney serves as the new Ministry Coordinator/Office Administrator. She helps manage the office and keeps everything organized and running smoothly. She has been married to her husband, Aaron for over 5 years and they have 2 sweet, happy kids. Adeline is 2 years old and Grayston is 11 months old.
John Little – Pastor of Community Life
John came to know the Lord in 1999. Ever since then he has had a passion to see the lost find Christ like he did. John is currently leading the Horizons men’s ministry and prayer ministry. He is in the process of becoming an ordained pastor in the Wesleyan church. John is married to his high school sweetheart, Mary and has three daughters Jenna, Rachel and Brianna.
Austin Bonds – Outreach Director
Austin Bonds is our outreach director. Originally from Arkansas and Indiana, he recently worked for New York City Relief as their outreach director for 5 years. His vision is to reach the least, the last, and the lost of the DFW Metroplex…and beyond. He received his undergraduate degree from Indiana Wesleyan and is married to Darcy. They have 3 boys and are excited about what God has in store for them in Texas.