Our Staff
Rev. Benjamin Williams
Pastor
The Rev. Benjamin Williams was born in “a state of Original Sin” – New Jersey – but learned to walk and talk in central Florida. As the son and grandson of Presbyterian ministers, he of course wanted to grow up to be anything else. After dramatic conversion and call experiences – rather in spite of himself – he majored in Religion at Stetson University in Florida, and completed his Master of Divinity degree at Princeton Theological Seminary in 1977. He pursued advanced studies in New Testament at the University of Erlangen, Germany, receiving his doctorate magna cum laude in 1989. Dr. Williams has taught both New Testament and World Religions through the years, and has served twenty churches in various capacities. He was trained in Transitional Ministry at Union Theological Seminary in Richmond, VA. Dr. Williams was ordained in the southern Presbyterian Church U.S., served many years in the Presbyterian Church (USA), and transferred to the Evangelical Presbyterian Church in 2015. He is married to Ceci Stapleton-Williams of Greensboro, and they – along with an assortment of rescue dogs, ducks, doves and, sigh, cats – make their home in Reidsville, NC.
Josh Campbell
Music and Communications Administrator
Josh Campbell has been playing music since the 5th grade when he began playing trumpet in his elementary school band. The trumpet evolved to the guitar, banjo, and mandolin in high school, and then music became the focal point. He has a certificate in sound engineering from The Conservatory of Recording Arts & Sciences in Tempe, AZ, and degrees in Classical Guitar Performance and Music Theory with a focus on Composition from ECU. Josh has been involved with Hollywood Church since he began teaching a guitar class in what is now the handbell room in 2017. He began teaching most of his private students in the Kingdom Kids room in 2018 and became the Assistant Director of Music in 2019. In 2022 he took over as Director of Music and has overseen the program as it has continued to evolve into a large ministry with 5 different ensemble that are regularly involved in the church music.
Wanda Aaron
Baby Pantry, and Community Garden Director
Wanda Aaron is a devoted mother, gardener, and lifelong nurturer whose work has touched families across Greenville, NC. Since 2019, she has faithfully served her community through her passion for growing, teaching, and caring for others. Her dedication blossomed at Hollywood Presbyterian Church, where she supported and uplifted mothers through the Mothers of Many Seasons program and helped provide essential care items through the church’s Lifetime of Joy Baby Pantry. With a gentle spirit and hands rooted in the earth, she has taught gardening classes, shared her knowledge of growing food, and guided families in cultivating both nourishment and connection. Her work in the garden has always mirrored her calling in life: to nurture life wherever she goes. Before stepping deeply into community service, she spent many years working as a Nursing Assistant and a Medicine Aide offering compassion, dignity, and steady care to those who needed it most. Her commitment to caregiving—both in professional and personal spaces—continues to shape the lives of everyone she encounters. Whether tending a garden bed, teaching a class, or comforting a mother in need, she brings warmth, wisdom, and generosity to every space she enters. Her life is a testament to service, growth, and love in action.
Baby Pantry #: 252-751-6557
Our Beliefs
All Scripture is self-attesting and being Truth, requires our unreserved submission in all areas of life. The infallible Word of God, the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments, is a complete and unified witness to God’s redemptive acts culminating in the incarnation of the Living Word, the Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible, uniquely and fully inspired by the Holy Spirit, is the supreme and final authority on all matters on which it speaks. On this sure foundation we affirm these Essentials:
1. We believe in one God, the sovereign Creator and Sustainer of all things, infinitely perfect and eternally existing in three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. To Him be all honor, glory and praise forever!
2. Jesus Christ, the living Word, became flesh through His miraculous conception by the Holy Spirit and His virgin birth. He who is true God became true man, united in one Person forever. He died on the cross a sacrifice for our sins according to the Scriptures. On the third day He arose bodily from the dead, ascended into heaven, where, at the right hand of the Majesty on High, He now is our High Priest and Mediator.
3. The Holy Spirit has come to glorify Christ and to apply the saving work of Christ to our hearts. He convicts us of sin and draws us to the Savior. Indwelling our hearts, He gives new life to us, empowers and imparts gifts to us for service. He instructs and guides us into all truth, and seals us for the day of redemption.
4. Being estranged from God and condemned by our sinfulness, our salvation is wholly dependent upon the work of God’s free grace. God credits His righteousness to those who put their faith in Christ alone for their salvation, thereby justifying them in His sight. Only such as, are born of the Holy Spirit and receive Jesus Christ become children of God and heirs of eternal life.
5. The true Church is composed of all persons who through saving faith in Jesus Christ and the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit are united together in the body of Christ. The Church finds her visible, yet imperfect, expression in local congregations where the Word of God is preached in its purity and the sacraments are administered in their integrity; where scriptural discipline is practiced, and where loving fellowship is maintained. For her perfecting, she awaits the return of her Lord.
6. Jesus Christ will come again to the earth—personally, visibly, and bodily—to judge the living and the dead, and to consummate history and the eternal plan of God. “Even so, come, Lord Jesus” (Revelation 22:20).
7. The Lord Jesus Christ commands all believers to proclaim the Gospel throughout the world and to make disciples of all nations. Obedience to the Great Commission requires total commitment to “Him who loved us and gave Himself for us.” He calls us to a life of self-denying love and service. “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10).
Our History
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Hollywood Presbyterian Church had a romantic beginning at a wedding ceremony on November 24, 1920, when arrangements were agreed upon for the organization of a Sunday school. The marriage took place in a two-room rural school building, which later became a part of the Hollywood Church building. The officiating minister at the marriage and prime mover in the Sunday school enterprise was the Rev. F.H. Scattergood, Presbyterian Evangelist. He was enthusiastically assisted by the pastor and other workers of Greenville First Church.
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The movement for public school consolidation caused the country school to be abandoned and purchased by Miss Annie Carroll. She bought it to save it for the time when she knew a church would be organized. After twenty – three years as a Sunday school, the group was organized as a church in 1943. A brick sanctuary and educational building were erected. A manse was added around 1948.
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Faithful workers included Lonnie McGowan, Tom Tyson, Miss Kate Lewis, Miss Annie Carroll, Rev. Sam Phillips, Rev. W.S. Harden and Rev. R.S. Boyd.
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During the next thirty years the church continued to grow and prosper. In 1975, during Rev. Bill Fobes’ ministry, the Carroll-Tyson Fellowship Hall was built under the leadership of Mr. Herman Evans. It was also around this time that the annual Easter Sunrise Service started and the Men of the Church organized a monthly fellowship.
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In 1982, a four room addition was added to the fellowship hall to be used as three Sunday school rooms and one storage room. During the next ten years the church grew to a point that more classrooms and a larger seating capacity were necessary.
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Our 14th minister, Rev. Joseph Sayblack, led the church through “A Venture In Faith” of the remodeling and expansion of the sanctuary and fellowship hall into a unified building. On May 9, 1993 the 50th Anniversary of the Church, the congregation held the groundbreaking ceremony.