LEADERSHIP
Reverend Chantaye Elmore Knotts
Stated Supply Pastor
A Huntsville native, Reverend Chantaye Elmore Knotts was baptized and raised in the Christian faith at Church Street Cumberland Presbyterian Church in America (CPCA), where she was nurtured under the pastoral leadership of the late Rev. Dr. Henry Bradford, Jr. As a teenager, she was actively involved in local and national CPCA youth ministry initiatives. These early faith experiences continue to shape her deep love for the Church and for the Word of God.
Reverend Knotts earned her bachelor’s degree from Harvard University. Her academic and ministry formation also includes graduate and doctoral studies at Northeastern University, Harvard Divinity School, Columbia Theological Seminary, and New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.
Licensed by the Huntsville Presbytery of the Alabama Synod, CPCA, Reverend Knotts has served faithfully in preaching, teaching, Christian education, and leadership development. For more than a decade, she has served the National Baptist Sunday School Publishing Board as an editor and staff writer. Previously, she served for thirteen years as a full-time staff minister at First Missionary Baptist Church, where she supported preaching, teaching, and congregational life. She also served as an adjunct professor and as Dean of Academics at Huntsville Bible College.
Reverend Knotts is the author of Go with God: Life Lessons from the Book of Proverbs (Karasi House, 2014) and Surviving the Whirlwind: God’s Answers for Tough Times (Karasi House, 2020), along with numerous published articles.
The daughter of Mr. Billy G. Elmore and the late Mrs. Lucretia Winston Elmore, she is the proud mother of two adult sons, Mr. Michael Avery Knotts and Captain Eliot C. Knotts (U.S. Army). She enjoys traveling, cooking, and spending meaningful time with family and friends.
In this season, Reverend Knotts’ heart is to walk alongside the people of Briar Fork—sharing God’s Word, offering pastoral care, and serving together in faith and hope.
Greetings From Reverend Knotts
Welcome, and thank you for visiting the Briar Fork CPCA website.
It is a joy and an honor to walk alongside this congregation in this season of ministry. Briar Fork is a community rooted in faith, prayer, and a sincere desire to grow in God’s Word, and I am grateful for the opportunity to serve here.
My heart is to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with clarity and compassion, to care for God’s people with faithfulness, and to support the life and ministry of the church as we seek to follow God together. Whether you are a long-time member, a returning friend, or someone visiting for the first time, you are welcome here.
We invite you to join us in worship, study, and service as we trust God’s leading and grow together in faith and hope.
Grace and peace,
Reverend Chantaye Elmore Knotts
ELDERS
DEACONS
Gayle Toney
Anthony Simpson
Yolanda Powell-Friend
Michael Jones
Mary Jo West
