Helping God’s People Thrive
Our Core Values
We are a Christ-centric Consulting & Training practice.
We are committed to financially empowering the Great Commission.
We seek freedom and economic equality for all people through employing Biblically-based principles and practices.
We are inclusive and diverse as we aspire to serve believers from “all nations”.
Our Mission
To promote holistic stewardship and effective generosity.
Our Vision
To see God’s people thriving in the abundance of resources.
Who We Are
About Charles
Charles W. Buffington, Jr., is the founder and CEO of SonSeeker Media LTD, whose mission is: “Advancing the cause of Christ through Stewardship.” Our goal is to help individuals and churches maximize their impact for God’s kingdom by efficiently and effectively raising and managing financial resources.
Prior to starting his consulting practice, Charles worked for 25 years with BellSouth, LLC, and AT&T Inc. He retired in June of 1995 as vice president of commercial sales for the Georgia division. His tenure in the telecommunications industry includes a three-year engagement as an advisor to the senior leadership of Telkom South Africa, the national telecommunications carrier in the Republic of South Africa.
Charles was ordained as a deacon at Green Forest Community Church under the pastoral leadership of the late Dr. George O. McCalep, Jr., where he served as the chairman of the stewardship ministry for nine years. While serving in this ministry, he and his son Charles III coauthored a discipleship/stewardship book entitled, “He Said It I did it.”
Charles is active in his service to the community. He is a current or past board member of the following organizations:
- Georgia United Methodist Foundation
- Gammon Theological Seminary
- Mt. Pisgah Christian School
- North Fulton Community Charities
- Keyworth Bank
- Emory Johns Creek Hospital
- Johns Creek Advantage (economic development agency)
Charles is a graduate of the Harvard Business School, having completed the Advanced Management Program for senior executives in 1990. He and his wife Minnie have been married for more than 50 years and have one son, Charles III, and four granddaughters.
Charles and his family are members of St. James United Methodist Church in Alpharetta, Georgia, where the Rev. Dr. Gregory S. Williams is the senior pastor.
REV. KEITH LAWDER
Rev. Lawder is an ordained Elder in the United Methodist Church. He retired in 2021 as the President and CEO of the Georgia United Methodist Foundation where he developed the Clergy Financial Leadership Academy with Charles Buffington.
GUMF offers financial services such as investing, loans, and scholarships to united Methodist churches and institutions, and students. Prior to joining GUMF, he served pastoral roles in three churches in the metropolitan Atlanta Area. Rev. Lawder graduated from the University of Virginia with degrees in Psychology (BA) and Finance (MBA). He also holds and MDIV from Emory University. Rev. Lawder worked for Wachovia Bank in North Carolina and Georgia for 30 years before leaving to become a Methodist Pastor. His last position for the bank was as Chief Commercial Risk Officer for Georgia.
Rev. Lawder serves on the Board of Trustees for Gammon Theological Seminary. He served on the Bishops Extended Cabinet for the North Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church from 2017 until 2021. Other board memberships have included the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, the Better Business Bureau of Atlanta, and United Ways and Arts Councils in communities where he lived.
Rev. Lawder is passionate about helping clergy and theology students develop financial and leadership skills to be more effective in their communities. He joined SonSeeker in 2021 to enhance and grow this ministry. He has been a lecturer on sound financial practices and has written articles on the subject.
Rev. Lawder has been married to Mary L. Lawder, a retired Parish Nurse, for almost 50 years. They have three grown sons (and three wonderful daughters-in-law) and eight grandchildren. A fly-fishing enthusiast and avid reader, he enjoys teaching and occasional preaching.
Nelson McRay
Nelson is a native of Miami, Florida. He attended the Georgia Institute of Technology where he earned both a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in mechanical engineering. Nelson has worked with several FORTUNE Top 150 Companies during his career, including: PPG Industries, IBM Corporation, Xerox Corporation and most recently Kimberly-Clark Corporation.
At Kimberly-Clark, Nelson worked as the Technical Strategy Leader for the Global Nonwovens sector, an internal manufacturing unit at Kimberly-Clark responsible for the development, commercialization and supply of materials used in Kimberly-Clark’s branded personal hygiene products. In this role, Nelson was responsible for providing strategic leadership and visioning for both business and technology development for the Nonwoven Sector. Throughout his 28- year Career at Kimberly-Clark, Nelson held various multi-functional assignments, including placements in Engineering, R&D, Manufacturing, Sales & Marketing, Product Commercialization, Business Strategy and Technology Strategy. Early in Nelson’s career, his development work led to the invention of a patented sterilization fabric supporting Kimberly- Clark’s Health Care Division, resulting in six U.S. patents, one European patent and a corporate Trade Secret. Over his career, Nelson has successfully led multiple global commercialization of consumer product launches and installation of manufacturing processes in numerous countries throughout North America, Latin America, EMEA and Asia.
Throughout Nelson’s career, he has been a very active volunteer in engineering recruitment and mentorship, with organizations such as the National Society of Black Engineers as well as local middle & high schools in his community. Nelson served on the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering External Advisory Board from 2012 to 2020 and in 2016 Nelson was inducted into Georgia Tech College of Engineering’s Academy of Distinguished Engineering Alumni.
Nelson married his college sweetheart Sonya in 1987 and they have two young adult children, Nia & Nevin. Despite several corporate relocations out of state, they have called Georgia their home for more than 35 years, and have been settled in Roswell, GA since 1998. In 2018 Nelson retired from Kimberly-Clark and now spends most of his time volunteering in various community organizations and leading a Sunday School class at his church. He also focuses his time working with mission organizations to help develop micro-businesses in under-developed countries around the world. In his spare time, Nelson enjoys family vacations, photography, golf and tennis.