Ministry Staff

Rev. Charles L. Mitchell - Minister of Visitation

Charles L. Mitchell was born December 2, 1922 the fifth of ten children. He grewup to become the valedictorian of Edgemoor High School in 1940 before entering Erskine College. Rev. Mitchell stayed at Erskine College until volunteering for service in the U.S. Army Air Corp in 1942. By his twentieth birthday he had earned his pilot's license, after which he served his country in World War II until being honorably discharged from military service in 1946. After his discharge he returned to Erskine College to complete his studies. He graduated from Erskine in May 1948 after which he entered the Seminary at Erskine. During his studies in the seminary he met his wife, Mary Alice Moore. They were married on August 25, 1949. They have since been blessed with three children, three grandsons, one granddaughter, four great-grandsons and two great-granddaughters.

During his studies in Seminary, Rev. Mitchell acted as pulpit supply for the Iva and Generostee Associate Reformed Presbyterian Churches. After graduating in 1951 he served the Old Providence ARP Church in Spottswood, Virginia from 1951-1955. After this term, he served as pastor of the Fayetteville Tennessee ARP Church from 1956-1964. In October of 1964 Rev. Mitchell moved to Gastonia, North Carolina where he served as pastor of the Crowders Creek ARP Church for over 9 years. His final pastorate was at the Covenant ARP Church in Statesville, North Carolina where he served for over 14 years. After this pastorate he retired from ministry in 1988.

In 1989 Rev. Mitchell moved to Rock Hill where he came out of retirement to work part-time as the Minister of Visitation for Ebenezer ARP Church. Currently, Rev. Mitchell serves by visiting two days per week.

Mary Nell Coblentz - Children's Ministry Coordinator

Mary Nell Coblentz joined the staff at Ebenezer in December 2005 as Children's Ministry Coordinator.

She is married to Alex Coblentz, current interim pastor of Living Waters ARP in Lake Wylie, SC. She has 3 children: Nathan; David (married to Dori), Computer Software Engineer for Adobe in California; and Susannah, a freshman at Clemson University.

Mary Nell graduated from Pfeiffer College with a B.A. in Christian Education and has enjoyed many opportunities to work with children, youth and women's ministries in the church, community and at the presbytery level. She enjoys people, esp. the children at Ebenezer, and loves being a resource to those eager to learn or in need.

Before moving to Rock Hill in 2002, Mary Nell worked as a Children's Library Assistant at Rowan Public Library in Salisbury, NC and continues to enjoy occasional opportunities to be a substitute at the York County Public Library.

Charlie Phillips - Youth Minister

Charlie studied Communication Arts, Business, and the Bible while attending Bryan College. Upon graduating in 2003, he embarked on a mission to recruit students to attend both Bryan and The Summit—the ultimate Christian camp for teenagers. After roughing it on the road for about a year, Charlie grew very ill and was made to return to his home in Greenville, SC where he started a small business and worked at a restaurant as a waiter/manager.

All during his experiences in college and the years following, Charlie was deeply involved in teenager’s lives, working in numerous youth groups, speaking at conferences, and serving with Andy Lewis at Mitchell Road Presbyterian Church. It was during his time with Andy that he received a call to full-time ministry work. After much prayer and consideration, he accepted a position as Youth Director at Ebenezer.

Randy Imler - Minister of Music

Randy and Tracy Imler live in Tega Cay, SC and enjoy family
time, boating, music and playing with their children, Peri, Lane and Ross. Randy grew up in Tega Cay and Tracy is originally from Greenville, SC. They met at Winthrop University and were married in 1991 at Ebenezer. The Imlers own a growing family business called Icon Paging. Tracy manages the business from home. Randy works at Catawba Regional Development Corporation.

Randy received his bachelor's degree in Music from Winthrop University (1987), an MBA from the University of South Carolina (1990) and his Doctorate in Music from the University of South Carolina (2007). Before coming to Ebenezer, Randy served several churches as Director of Music, including: St. Stephens Lutheran Church (1988-1991) in Lexington, SC and
Steele Creek Presbyterian Church (1994-1998) in Charlotte, NC.

Dawn Broom - Organist

Dawn Broom is a native of Union County, North Carolina and lives in Charlotte. She comes to Ebenezer with 25+ years of experience as a church musician and two degrees in music, a Bachelor of Music Education from Wingate University (Wingate, NC) and a Master of Church Music from Midwestern Theological Seminary (Kansas City, MO). Dawn is employed at Brodt music company and enjoys living with and caring for 35+ exotic birds. She also enjoys creating musical arrangements using computer, cooking (gourmet and otherwise), and shopping.

Our Administrative Staff

Shirley Sims - Administrative Secretary Shirley, as the administrative secretary, deals with all financial aspects of the ministry, as well as, all services for members, like record keeping and newsletter writing. Shirley and her husband, James, live in York and are members of Central Baptist Church. They have 1 son and 2 grandchildren.

Johnna Vicente - Receptionist Johnna is our receptionist/secretary. She and her family are members of Woodhaven Baptist Church here in Rock Hill, where she teaches Acteens. Her husband, Juan-Carlos is a Deacon at Woodhaven and is employed at Sonoco Corrflex, in Charlotte, N.C. as a Graphics Specialist. Juan-Carlos is originally from Madrid, Spain. They have 2 children, Anna (6) and Jeremy (19). Johnna also serves on the York Baptist Associational Leadership Team as Acteens Consultant. She is very passionate about missions and enjoys Ebenezer Presbyterian's dedication to missions.

James Ratchford - Custodian James Ratchford serves Ebenezer as our faithful and hard working custodian. James is a native of Rock Hill and he has served Ebenezer by taking care of our facilities since 1982.