Staff
Rev. Dr. Nadine Burton, Executive Regional Minister
Rev. Dr. Nadine Burton is the Executive Regional Minister for the Great River Region. She initially accepted the assignment as Interim Regional Minister in September 2015. Having worked in a variety of roles, Dr. Burton came highly qualified. She currently provides spiritual and administrative oversight for 106 congregations throughout Arkansas, Mississippi, and Louisiana, and a pastoral “presence” for pastors, lay leaders, and members. She boldly reported traveling 33,000 miles from 2015-16, which became a familiar hashtag throughout the Great River.
Rev. Dr. Nearline Anderson, Associate Regional Minister
(Mississippi)
Rev. Dr. Nearline Anderson is a Board Certified Pastoral Counselor and Ordained Disciples of Christ Minister. She is currently a member of Indianola CC, where she has served as Associate Minister, Bible Teacher, and Youth Minister. She received her Doctor of Ministry from Andersonville Theological Seminary. With the heart to help others, Nearline participates in community outreach with children through local mission efforts.
Rev. Dr. Bobbie Yellott, Associate Regional Minister
(Louisiana)
Roberta (Bobbie) Yellott has served as pastor of First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) of Sulphur, LA, since 2014. She was Ordained by the Great River Region on January 17, 2016, after attending Brite Divinity School. Prior to her call to Sulphur, Bobbie served as Minister of Prayer and Visitation at First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) of Lake Charles, LA.
Active in the regional church, Bobbie served as Board Secretary and Second Vice-Moderator for the Louisiana Region. In the Great River Region, she has served as Regional Moderator and Moderator-Elect, as well as a long-time member of the Regional Committee on Ministry. She currently serves as a Regional Elder.
Rev. Dr. Jarrett Banks, New Church Planter
Rev. Dr. Jarrett Banks is a graduate of Wingate University (Bachelor of Science), a graduate of Southern Seminary (Masters of Divinity) and a graduate of Gardner-Webb University (Doctor of Ministry). He has over 30 years of ministerial experience.
Jarrett has served as the senior minister of churches in North Carolina, Kentucky, Georgia, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana. His mission has been to challenge others to follow the way Jesus taught his disciples to live, serve and love. In 2019, Jarrett decided the best way he could fulfill that mission is by working with others to envision a new expression of church. He is ordained and commissioned by the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).
Kristen Beach, Ministry Program Associate
Kristen Beach is the Ministry Program Associate for the Great River Region of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). Prior to serving the region, she was an elementary teacher and administrator for nearly twenty years. She is a third generation Disciple who attends Park Hill Christian Church in North Little Rock, AR. She and her husband, David, raised their two grown children, Grant (Casey) and Elizabeth (Justin Willson) in the church where they grew up together. Kristen has served as an elder, diaconate, Sunday school teacher, and has served on the board as chair of various ministry teams throughout the years.
