Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, Georgia—where the late President Jimmy Carter taught Sunday school for decades—has hired its second female pastor after the first resigned after less than two years in the role.
On June 14, the church announced the appointment of the Rev. Erin Hall, a pastor’s wife and mother of four, as its interim pastor.
“We are excited and glad to welcome Rev. Dr. Erin Hall as our interim pastor at Maranatha Baptist Church,” the statement read. “Erin is pictured here with her four children. (Her husband Jake was en route to Dallas!).”
Church officials did not immediately respond to questions from The Christian Post on Monday about the reasons for Hall’s hiring or the departure of the Rev. Ashley Guthas, who was hired as the church’s first female pastor in April 2024.
In addition to her work as a minister and educator, Hall has collaborated with several ministries, including the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, and holds a doctorate from Columbia Theological Seminary. According to her website, she is known for her welcoming spirit and commitment to social justice.
“This pastor’s wife does not sit in the same pew from one Sunday to the next but has been known to bring all manner of folks into the pew beside her,” her website states. “She is a strong believer that a little dancing in the kitchen can make the world a better place, so Beyoncé and Stevie Wonder, among others, are regulars in her home.
“When she needs to unwind from projects, The Great British Baking Show and Designing Women episodes are just the thing. She has very little interest in sports, gossip, Pinterest-perfection, or mean people, but loves to talk about big-picture ideas, social justice, everyday wonders, and God-winks in the world.”
Background on the previous pastor:
In April 2024, nearly five years after hiring the Rev. Tony Lowden as its first Black lead pastor, Maranatha Baptist Church named Guthas as the first woman to serve as pastor in its 49-year history.
Guthas, who previously served as associate minister to families, children, and youth at Northside Drive Baptist Church in Atlanta, said she had wrestled with the idea of becoming a senior pastor before ultimately accepting the call from Maranatha.
In a January interview with the Americus Times-Recorder, she announced that she had left the church on October 3, 2025. She attributed the departure in part to a noticeable shift in the church and community following the death of former President Jimmy Carter in December 2024 at age 100.
Guthas said she faced criticism for her openness toward refugees and questions about whether she was truly called to pastoral ministry. She noted that she had hosted two Afghan refugees in her home with her daughters, which became a point of tension.
She also acknowledged that removing both the U.S. and Christian flags from the sanctuary drove some members away. “There were individuals who did not speak to me and then did not return to the church after that,” she said.
Guthas added that challenges mounted over time, including one member who asked if she cared more about “brown and Black bodies” than white bodies.
The mother of two daughters said she is currently working on a memoir but remains confident in her calling. “I still feel very strongly and believe within the core of my being that I am called to shepherd people,” she said. “But I don’t know that that shepherding of others will be within the walls of a religious institution ever again.”
