ABOUT

Aaron T. Murphy

EDUCATION/EXPERIENCE

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• Education & Training

  • East Tennessee State University

    • B.S. in Engineering Technology (2004)

  • Milligan University (Emmanuel Christian Seminary)

    • M.Div. (2012)

  • Upper Room Bible College & Seminary

    • D.Min. (2019)

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• Professional Experience

  • Good Samaritan Ministries, Inc. (Social Services)

    • C.E.O./ Executive Director (2014 – present)

  • Thankful Baptist Church

    • Senior Pastor (2017 – present)

  • Mitch Cox Companies

    • Property Manager (2013) 

  • Thankful Baptist Church

    • Associate Pastor (2009 – 2012)

  • Robins & Morton (Healthcare Construction)

    • Project Manager (2004 – 2009)

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• Community Involvement

  • Johnson City Development Authority – Board Member (2019 – current)

  • Johnson City Police Department – Volunteer Chaplain to Police Chief (2019 – current)

  • Rotary Club of Johnson City (2018 – current)

  • Carver Recreation Center – Volunteer (2017 – current)

  • L.X.I. – Board Chair (2016 – current)

  • F.E.M.A. – Board Member (2015 – current)

  • New Community Life – Board Member (2014 – current)

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• Achievements

  • Balanced budgets totaling over 115 million dollars (corporate and non-profit).

  • Lead new construction project efforts totaling 94 million dollars in 6 states. 

  • Assisted with over 850,000 homeless prevention cases via food, clothing and shelter in Upper East Tennessee (9 counties).

  • Led community efforts in providing 13,000 children in poverty with school supplies, clothes and food during the summer months. 

  • Collected clothes for over 11,000 children and teens in poverty for winter months. 

  • Mobilized over 100 city leaders to serve the streets during most recent Johnson City protests. 

  • Received 2 Mayoral Proclamations from the City of Johnson City for community service work. 

"From Chaos to Community"

After spending years moving state to state working with city leaders all over the country leading multimillion-dollar healthcare construction projects, Aaron answered the call to serve in a different way. Aaron prayerfully made the decision to transition his career from corporate America to the non-profit arena in serving those in poverty through education, mentoring and social services. He believes that in order for him to be the community leader he is called to be he had to gain the experience of serving in both worlds. This has resulted in him being a well-rounded leader understanding how to better form community partnerships and collaborations for the purposes of community advancement. 

Recently, Aaron has been seen on the front lines serving city leaders, protesters, police officers, and citizens during one of the most challenging seasons of our time. He is a man who leads us from chaos and calls us to community. He is known to bring community solutions to community problems. Aaron took the lead in calling the city of Johnson City together for the overall well-being of the region. In the midst of a pandemic, economic downturn, racial tension, and protests, Aaron gathered our city on the front steps of the Johnson City Police Department along with Police Chief Karl Turner, Mayor Jenny Brock, and Former Police Chief Mark Sirois for a call to prayer and unity. He continues to work with city and group leaders to assist in diffusing racial and generational tension that began to spread throughout our region. Aaron spent numerous days and nights working alongside police officers, protestors and pastors in the midst of protest lines to help keep our streets and neighborhoods safe. 

Aaron has also led many efforts of gathering our community together in serving the low income and homeless populations. He has worked with thousands of individuals who were once homeless but now housed and are part of our community’s work force. He believes in the saying - “You can give a man a fish and he will eat for a day but, if you teach him how to fish he will eat for a lifetime.” Due to the recent pandemic causing various local businesses to shut their doors, he led food distribution efforts for families who suffered job loss. Aaron refuses to take credit for any of these accomplishments. He says this work is a result of prayer, faith and everyone coming together for a common cause for the sake of the overall advancement of the community. 

“We are Better Together. Divided we Fall. And Together We Overcome.” - Aaron T. Murphy

Together Moving Forward