Lead Pastor
The Reverend Stuart Milton has been serving as a United Methodist pastor for 37 years, having begun his ministry right after graduating from UNC Wilmington in 1986. He has served pastorates throughout the North Carolina Annual Conference including Norlina, Cary, Hurdle Mills, Durham, Wilson, and most recently in Southport. A graduate of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, his passion is helping people discover abundant life through the grace of God shown in Jesus Christ. He believes Jesus Christ is the hope of the world and that the Church must reach out with the good news of the life, death, and
resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Stuart was born in Atlanta, GA but grew up near Cincinnati, OH and is a huge Cincinnati Reds and Bengals fan. His family moved to Westport, CT while he was in high school, which is where he graduated.
Pastor Stuart has served on many committees and teams in the NC Annual Conference and District levels. Pastor Stuart is also very active in the Walk to Emmaus and Chrysalis Youth Spiritual Renewal movements.
His wife of over 35 years, Teresa, is a retired teacher, having taught for over 30 years in Kindergarten and Pre-Kindergarten and most recently in a church- based Preschool. She is a gifted pianist and vocalist and enjoys leading worship, in both traditional and contemporary settings. She was the worship leader for Project Bountiful, a ministry of the NC Conference Academy for Leadership Excellence. She regularly leads worship for Walk to Emmaus events.
The Milton’s have two children. Hannah lives in Leland, NC with her family. She works as Children’s Director at Wrightsboro United Methodist Church in Wilmington and is working towards becoming a Disney Travel Agent. The Milton’s youngest, Wes, lives in Albuquerque, NM and has recently gotten engaged. He and his fiancé, Sarah, are planning an October, 2024 wedding!
The Milton’s also have two grandchildren, who they love to spoil! Luke is 6, will be in first grade at Wilmington School of the Arts and loves Lego’s, Spiderman, Pokemon, and his Nana! Andrew is one and loves dancing, walking, talking, and his PopPop!
When not working at the church, Stuart enjoys walking, reading, playing Fantasy Football! Pastor is also a big fan of the Carolina Tarheels!
“We are very excited about ministry in Carolina Beach and partnering in ministry with the great folks things at St. Paul’s UMC and SALT! God is doing great things and we are looking forward to sharing the love of Jesus.”
Director of Church Planting and Outreach
In 2021 Gayle Tabor completed a Masters of Divinity degree from Chicago Theological Seminary. Previously Gayle was a small business owner of a boutique Marketing Firm and Glynne’s Soaps, a manufacturer of All Natural Skin Care for People and Their Pets. In 2016 Gayle, a long time volunteer at St Paul’s, answered the call to ministry and began seminary. Gayle came on staff at St Paul’s in 2021 as St Paul’s began the discernment process for starting a new church OTB (Over The [Snow’s Cut] Bridge) to meet the needs of the growing community in the Monkey Junction area.
Gayle will be commissioned as a Provisional Elder in the UMC in June 2022 (the last step toward full ordination in the United Methodist Church). Gayle has a passion for church outside the walls of the church building, having started Church at the Boardwalk in the summer of 2016 and Church on Tap in 2019. Gayle is an AFOL (Adult Fan Of Lego) and began a Lego Club at St Paul’s for elementary aged children in 2013.
Outside of church you’ll find Gayle at local farmers’ markets, baseball games, and cheering for the beloved Cubs! Gayle enjoys kayaking, golf, traveling and adventures.
Gayle’s office hours are usually Tuesday through Thursday 9:30-1 (and occasionally at a local coffee shop).
Office Manager
Mandy Krause grew up in Durham, NC. After graduating from Jordan High School she attended Elon University where she got a degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in Marketing. After graduating, Mandy moved to Wrightsville Beach and shortly thereafter started as a Management Trainee at Enterprise Rent-a-Car. Within 2 years she was working as a Regional Recruiting Manager hiring Management Trainees for over 40 offices in NC.
She ended up meeting her future husband, Jason, at Enterprise and they were married in 2002. Once their first child was born Mandy decided to be a stay at home Mom after working 8 years at Enterprise. They proceeded to have 2 more boys and life was crazy. With Jason’s executive positions at Enterprise they lived in Texas for over 3 years and Colorado for 8 years. After her husband retired in 2019 they decided to move back to NC to start a new chapter here where they own an Allstate agency.
Mandy enjoys spending time with her sons, dinners with Jason, and having fun on the water with their great group of friends. She loves the people at St. Paul’s and feels blessed every day to come to work here in this wonderful church.
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Wake Up and Worship
Trae loves to play guitar and sing about Jesus. He has been given the opportunity to do just that for about the past twenty years or so and is still excited (and nervous) every time he gets to lead this wonderful congregation in worship. His amazing wife Beverly is his ever present support and his forever love. His daughter, India, and son Shade, are their best friends. Trae is blessed and excited to be a part of this amazing community of believers.
