TRANSITIONAL SENIOR PASTOR
Rev. Dr. Jeffrey G. Willetts
JWilletts@leland.edu
Jeff was called to be our transitional pastor on August 1, 2009. Dr.Willetts graduated from Campbell University in 1985 with a BA in Religion & Philosophy. In 1988 he graduated from Yale University Divinity School with a MA in Religion. In 1997 he earned his PhD in Philosophy from the University of Wales.
In his various fields of ministry he has served with the music ministry team, Crossroads, touring the mid-atlantic states. From 1991 to 1997 he was church-planter establishing Fair Oaks Baptist Church. In 1998 he was called to be pastor of Calvary Hill Baptist Church on March 1st, and the same year became the Academic Director of The John Leland Center for Theological Studies, a new Baptist seminary in the nation's capital. He currently serves the seminary as Academic Dean/VP and is Associate Professor of Divinity.
Dr. Willetts enjoys sports, especially basketball, as well as, hunting and fishing.
Dr. Willetts is married to Reverend Elizabeth Willetts, and has three teenage children, Andrew, Rebekah, and Jordan.
ASSOCIATE PASTOR
Rev. David Perdue
David@1bc.org
David was born in Ft. Worth, Texas but has spent most of his life in Virginia. He came to Northern Virginia in 1990 to attend George Mason University from which he graduated with a degree in English in 1994. That same year he married his Australian sweetheart whom he had met a few years earlier through an on-campus Christian ministry (The Baptist Student Union). They have since had four kids: India, Elissa, Shayna, and Kieran. While at Mason, David developed a passion for calling people together to live for Christ, and shortly after his graduation began his first full-time ministry position as a campus minister intern. Out of this experience he felt compelled to further his ministry to his peers and college students,and with the support of several local churches and the Northstar Network (Formerly the Mt. Vernon Baptist Association), he along with a few friends started a new church in Arlington - The Cross. After two great years of exploring a variety of new ways to "do church", it became apparent that it was time to move on to a new venture. David and Natalie went back to their home church in Burke, Knollwood Community Church where David became the Minister of Outreach and Nat played keyboards for the praise band. After three years at Knollwood, yet another opportunity presented itself here in Arlington. Dr. Alan Stanford, whom David had met a few times, had recently come to the Church at Clarendon as senior pastor, and he invited David and Natalie to come and see if God might have a place for them here. They were thrilled at the opportunity to work with Alan and intrigued by the possibilities of returning to ministry in the Arlington area. In June 2005 David finally completed his Masters of Theological Studies at the John Leland Center after many years of part-time study.
SENIOR ADULT CONSULTANT
Rev. Mark Brasler
Mark has served as a consultant to The Church at Clarendon's Senior Adult Ministry since 2003. But his relationship with the church goes back to 1978, when he was called to serve as the church's minister of education. He left in 1989 to accept a similar position at Columbia Baptist Church in Falls Church. In 2003 he was called as part-time minister for spiritual development at Westwood Baptist Church in Springfield. That's when Clarendon senior pastor Alan Stanford asked Mark, in addition to his Westwood responsibilities, to come back to Clarendon to help with its seniors ministry. "I have had a 27-year relationship with most of Clarendon's seniors, and many of their children. It's been an honor for me to be a part of their lives, because these people are wise, dedicated and continue to grow in Christ. Most of all, they are among the most loving people I have ever known. That's what spiritual development is all about." A native of St. Louis, Mo., Mark holds a bachelor of journalism degree from the University of Missouri at Columbia. He was managing editor of a weekly newspaper in Aledo, Ill., and served in the public relations departments of Peoples Gas and Swift & Company, both in Chicago, before accepting a call into the ministry. He received a Master of Arts in Christian Education degree from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky., then was minister of education at two churches in Louisville before coming to Clarendon. Mark and his wife Mary have four grown children. His passion, next to spiritual development and teaching, is watching, reading about and discussing movies.
MINISTER OF COMMUNITY LIFE
Betsy Rice
Betsy has been attending the Church at Clarendon since the summer of 2006, when she and her husband Peter first moved to Arlington after getting married. She grew up in Connecticut and graduated from Dartmouth College, where she received a B.A. in Psychological and Brain Sciences. After trying out a few different career options, working as an administrative assistant and then as a unit coordinator helping adults with brain injuries, she took a leap of faith and decided to try a few seminary classes. Studying theology and serving as an intern at the church quickly convinced her that God had given her a passion for ministry. She was licensed to the Gospel Ministry by The Church at Clarendon Jan. 25, 2009. Currently, Betsy is an M.T.S. student at the John Leland Center for Theological Studies. She loves the opportunity to connect people with each other and with God, and to think about the ways that faith is applied in daily life. She and Peter are also enjoying their new life as parents to their son, Samuel.
WORSHIP LEADER
Natalie Perdue
Natalie is married to Dave and loves being the mom of four wonderful kids. She moved from Australia when she was eighteen and has been in Northern Virginia ever since, serving first at the Baptist Student Union at George Mason and since then, at several different local churches. Natalie's passion for ministry to young adults is driven by the void of young adults in the life of so many local churches in the area.
Apart from her passion for worship through music, Natalie teaches piano to around twenty kids in her neighborhood. One of her other greatest passions is running a neighborhood Bible study from her daughters' school community. She loves nothing more than time together with her husband and kids and friendships built with a common purpose to serve God in His kingdom-building.
SOUND TECH
