Our Staff

Lamar Oliver – Senior Pastor

A native of Lake Charles, Lamar has spent the last few years in local, regional, and international ministries of the Global Methodist Church after serving over twenty years in Louisiana Methodism as a pastor, associate pastor, and in campus ministry. He is a familiar face to many at Lea Joyner after being involved in Cursillo and presiding over our last two annual church meetings as a Connecting Elder for our area. Lamar spent his middle and high school years in the northern suburbs of Pittsburgh, PA, where he developed a passion for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Pittsburgh Penguins. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree (Accounting) from Louisiana Tech University, a Master of Divinity from Asbury Theological Seminary, and a Master of Business Administration (Non-Profit Administration and Church Leadership) from Dakota Wesleyan University.  In addition to his work with the church, Lamar is an adjunct professor in the School of Business, Innovation, and Leadership at Dakota Wesleyan and has an executive coaching practice that specializes in working with teams and individuals. He is also passionate about his photography hobby. Lamar and Erin have been married for over 23 years and are the proud parents of Anna Catherine (9) and Joseph (7).

 
 

Betty Swanson – Associate Pastor

Betty 3

Betty is the Associate Pastor and has served Lea Joyner since 2001. Her primary duties at the church are worship, prayer and pastoral care. She went through License to Preach school and finished Course of Study school at Millsaps in Jackson, Mississippi. She was ordained in the Global Methodist Church in February of 2023.
 
Betty and her husband Ray have 3 children: Emilee, Raymond and Amanda. They also have a grandson: Cody Dale. 
 
Contact Betty at revbet303@aol.com

      

Michael Martin – Director of Family Ministries

(Youth, Tweens, Kids)

 
Michael Martin is a West Monroe native. He married his wife Rose Mary in 2005 and they have two children, Mariah and Malaysa.  After spending 10 years in retail, he found his passion and calling for working with children while volunteering in different capacities at Lea Joyner.  He graduated from ULM in 2014 in Elementary Education and served a two year internship at the Wesley Foundation there. Before joining our staff in 2017, he was a Missionary for 2 years serving and mentoring the children and youth of San Raymundo, Guatemala. He loves cooking, board games, camping and traveling.
 
Contact Michael at martinsonamission@gmail.com

 

Lance Dumas – Director of Music

Lance is from West Monroe. He is a graduate of the University of Louisiana at Monroe with a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education. He currently lives in Monroe with his wife, Jessica, sons, Jacen & Judah and daughter Jaina.

 

Contact Lance at dumaslr@gmail.com

 

 

Jackie Howe – Administrative Secretary

Jackie has been the administrative secretary at Lea Joyner since 2001.  She lives in Swartz with her husband Kevin.  Their daughter Brittany, son-in-law Matt, and grandchildren, Jack & Louisa, live in Austin.
 
Contact Jackie at leajoynerchurch@gmail.com

 

Vicki Fuller – Financial Secretary

Vicki retired from J.P. Morgan Chase in 2006 as an operations manager. She is a native of Northeast Louisiana and lives in Monroe with her husband Tommy.

Contact Vicki at leajoynerchurch.vfuller@gmail.com

 

 

 

LaDonna Harrison – Nursery Coordinator

LaDonna is a graduate from ULM in Day Care & Nursery Management.  She has over 25 years of child care experience, including 20+ at Lea Joyner.  She retired from the Anna Meyer Library in Monroe. She is married to her husband Ronnie and they have two children: Shantae and RJ.