SPENCERVILLE CHURCH - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Office Manager
- Office Manager at Spencerville
Carol Davis Strack has been the Office Manager at Spencerville since October 2007. Her varied responsibilities include keeping the church calendar, creating the weekly Church Bulletin, and managing a very busy church life.
Chad Stuart was selected as the Senior Pastor of Spencerville Church in September of 2014. He preached his first sermon at Spencerville on November 8 of the same year, commuting for the first several months from California before moving to Maryland with his family in January 2015. Chad earned his undergraduate degree in theology from Southern Adventist University in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and a Master of Divinity (MDiv) from Andrews Theological Seminary in Berrien Springs, Michigan. In 2023, Chad completed his Doctor of Ministry (DMin) in Church Revitalization from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. He's married to Christina, and they have three boys: Dayton, Landon, and Levi. In his free time, Chad enjoys reading, running, and spending time with his family.
Crystal E. Ward lives by her personal motto: "To inspire, to motivate, and to connect."
She currently serves as the Executive Pastor. In addition to the traditional pastoral responsibilities of preaching and assisting in shepherding the congregation, she oversees the church's operations, strategic planning, administration, finances, and human resources to achieve its mission and vision.
She has a wealth of leadership experience in the corporate, not-for-profit, and religious sectors. Before God's calling on her life to full-time ministry, Crystal spent almost 20 years in the corporate sector. She was a Senior Vice President at Citibank and Vice President at JPMorgan.
Crystal holds a Masters of Divinity from Andrews Theological Seminary, a Masters in Public Administration in Management, a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance from Baruch, Zicklin School of Business, and a certificate in Executive Management from Columbia University Business School. She is also a certified Life Coach through the CAPP Institute.
She loves God with all her heart and vows to serve Him in all she does.
Erwin Gabriel Nanasi serves as Minister of Music for the Spencerville Seventh-Day Adventist Church in Maryland. He was educated in Piano Performance at the State University of Music and Performing Arts Stuttgart (Germany), in Orchestration and Arranging at Berklee College of Music (MA), in Theological Studies at Weimar University (CA), in Leadership at Andrews University (MI). He received his Doctorate in Worship Studies at Liberty University (VA). He has recorded over 700 uniquely arranged piano accompaniments, available on the downloadable KnowHymn app. In his spare time, Erwin designs Bible games such as the Bibliology® experience. He is happily married and has two children.
Job Titles:
- Pastor for Media and Communication
Originally from California, Jason and his family moved to Maryland in January 2015 to serve at Spencerville Church. A church planter at heart, Jason worked alongside Pastor Chad on the founding team at The Ark Community Church in Visalia, California.
Jason enjoys the challenge of using modern communication practices accompanied by technology to reach people with the Gospel message. In addition to his pastoral role, he is pursuing a Master's in Pastoral Ministry at Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary at Andrews University. Jason lives in West Laurel with his wife, Gina, and their two sons, Garrett and Benjamin.
Job Titles:
- Pastor
- Pastor for Nurture and Visitation
Pastor Kandace joined the pastoral team in May of 2019. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in religion from Andrews University and a Master of Science in counseling from the University of Evansville. In addition to her professional degrees, Kandace has completed all of the requirements for the Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE), more commonly known as a chaplain's certification. Kandace is passionate about knowing Jesus better and allowing Him to strengthen the connections between us so that we can reach out to our community in a more powerful way.
Kandace has been married to her husband, Pastor Franke Zollman, for over 40 years and has held classroom and administrative roles in the field of education in addition to her experience as a pastor. She values one-on-one interactions with people, counseling, and quiet walks in nature where she can talk with God.
Job Titles:
- Pastor
- Pastor for Children and Families
Lerone joined the staff of Spencerville Church in February 2017 as the Associate Pastor for Children and Families. Originally from the island of Jamaica, Lerone immigrated to Florida with her family in 1995. After graduate school, she relocated to Silver Spring to work as a Legislative Fellow with the North American Religious Liberty Association. Lerone holds a Master's in Social-Organizational Psychology from Teachers College at Columbia University. Lerone lives in Hanover, Maryland, with her husband, Murray, and children Warrick and Xara.
Mark Willey serves as the Organist for Spencerville Church. Originally from California, Mark came to Maryland in 1992 to study at the Peabody Conservatory of Music with renowned American organist Donald Sutherland. In 1995, Mark completed a Master's degree at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York. At Eastman, Mark worked as a graduate assistant with the Eastman Rochester Organ Initiative, a groundbreaking, interdisciplinary organization studying historic instruments and their performance practice.