Arledge was born in Charleston, S.C. in 1944. Born profoundly deaf, he went South Carolina School for the Blind and the Deaf in Spartanburg, S.C. from 1950 until 1963. He enrolled Gallaudet University in Washington DC. Later he became offset operator in Maryland and then relocated back to South Carolina. He became a member of First Baptist Church of Columbia, SC. Some years later, he attended Gardner Webb University earning a Bachelor of Arts in Religion in 1984. He graduated from Southeastern Baptist Theology Seminary in Wake Forest, NC with a Master of Divinity. He has served as Deaf ministry pastor at several churches in North Carolina and has served as an evangelist at Deaf revivals in both North and South Carolina. He enjoys painting with watercolor, acrylic, and does calligraphy. Arledge is married to Lynne Castles, a Kentucky native. She works as Sign Language interpreter at Campbell University. She serves in a Deaf ministry near Buies Creek.
Organist/Choir Accompanist
Associate Pastor of Family Ministry
I trusted Christ as my Lord and Savior and was baptized at five years of age. My faith in Jesus Christ gives me the peace, joy, love, and strength to overcome the trials of life. As a mother of four, and wife of a Pastor/Deacon, I served in several churches: in the kitchen, cleaning, decorating, nursery, Sunday school, children’s church, youth group, ladies Bible study leader, senior adult breakfasts, choir, fellowship committee, baptism committee, offering depositor, treasurer, and secretary, but my favorite job is being your Administrative Assistant! If I’m not in the church office, I’m probably enjoying: lunch with friends, a flea market, an antique shop, my music, a movie, traveling, or most of all camping!
Jacob Capps
Pastor Jacob Capps, from Greensboro, NC, originally came to the First Baptist Church in March of 2018 then God called him away in 2020. The year 2020 was not only a wild one due to the pandemic, but Jacob and Hope got married at the end of August, moved to Matthews, NC, bought a house, and started new jobs. They welcomed their little girl, Lyza Anne, into this world in October 2021. Then in July 2022, First Baptist called Jacob and Hope back to Wallace to come on staff as the Associate Pastor for Family Ministry.
Jacob holds a Bachelor of Arts in Pastoral Ministry from Clear Creek Baptist Bible College in Pineville, KY. He is currently pursuing his Master of Divinity in Preaching & Pastoral Ministry at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. After accepting the call into ministry, he has served in a full-time Student Pastor since 2014.
In his downtime, Jacob loves spending time with his wife, daughter, and their three amazing dogs, fishing, golfing, fitness, and taking care of his grass!
Dee Thompson
Senior Pastor
Deaf Ministry Pastor
Kim Longenbach
Administrative Assistant
Dr. Al Thompson
Artledge Castles
LaRue Faircloth
Al Thompson, not to be confused with Santa Claus. Oh, Al Thompson is a native of Richmond, Virginia, and has served churches in Texas, Florida, and Virginia before coming to Wallace, NC, in January of 2012. As you can see, he knows Santa personally.
Al went to the University of Richmond, VA, Southwestern Baptist Seminary in Fort Worth, TX, and did his doctoral work at the Southern Baptist Seminary in Louisville, KY. His most recent writing is his book, Meet the Real Jesus: A No-Spin Look at Jesus through the Eyes of Matthew.
Al's wife, Dee, was born in Roanoke Rapids, NC, and they met during their college years. They have three children: Emily, who teaches chemistry in Nashville; Stephen, who works in web-based services in Northern Virginia; and Sara, who is a quality control specialist (editing) for a company in Charlottesville, VA.
Minister of Music & Senior Adults