Administrative Staff and Deacons

Melissa Falcone – Women’s Counseling Coordinator (melissa@drbc.org)

Growing up in the American South in Flower Mound, Texas, Melissa had ample opportunities to observe the difference between Christianity that was rooted in the heart and Christianity that was cultural and for show. Eventually, through the faithful ministry of her mother and Sunday school teachers (one who challenged Melissa to “read through the Bible until you find a story you don’t know yet”), at age 10 Melissa’s heart became personally convicted of sin while reading Scripture, and she experienced the life-changing regeneration of God’s Spirit. God also changed Melissa’s heart to want to serve others, so she has served in counseling ministry for the past 15 years in various formal and informal roles. She has her Masters in Counseling from Westminster Seminary, has worked for CCEF as an online instructor, and helps to teach Equipped to Counsel with her husband, Danny. They have 3 fantastic children–Brooklyn, Rydan, and Reece– with a fourth on the way soon. Melissa loves to run, read, and cook & eat spicy Thai food.

Annette Webster – Executive Assistant (annette@drbc.org)

Annette is married to Pat, and they have two grown sons, DRBC member Joseph (25) and Jordan (30), who is married to Alicia, with two grandsons, William (3) & Elliott (1). By God’s grace, Annette and Pat came to trust in Jesus Christ soon after they were married. In addition to 15 plus years in the hospitality industry and running their own decorating/organizing/event planning business, they have served in a number of ministries in the Denton, TX area since 1999. Annette has a heart for counseling women and loves sharing the Word of God with them. While they are pure-bred Texans, after 3 ½ years here, they call Northern Virginia, especially Del Ray Baptist, home.

Savannah Minnick – Office Manager (savannah@drbc.org)

Savannah was born in Austin, TX and spent most of her childhood substantiating the doctrine of total depravity. After a long career of smarting off to authorities and giving teachers ample cause to hold parent conferences, a relative took her to church to spark a reformation. Years of self-righteousness later, the Lord finally brought her to Himself in college through the witness of faithful Christians in a Bible study. She moved to Mississippi after college and taught high school Spanish—once taking the role so seriously that she showed up in a cardboard cactus costume replete with approximately 500 toothpicks. In 2019, she moved to the Blacksburg, VA area to teach ESL and later worked as the office manager for HeartCry Missionary Society. Her role as the office manager for Del Ray Baptist Church brought her to northern VA in 2022. She spends her free time seeking wool and flax for her willing hands, rising while it is still night to provide food for maidens, and lifting weights to make her arms strong (just 10 lbs, but still). Lest you think she may be a Proverbs 31 woman, please note the disqualifying fact that her lamp does go out at night…usually around 9:30pm.

Bruce Stevenson – Facilities Manager (bruce@drbc.org)

Bryson Thomas – Pastoral Assistant (bryson@drbc.org)

Bryson was born and raised in Chicago, IL. He was raised in a Christian home and, by God’s grace, placed his trust in Jesus as Lord and Savior at a young age. While at Purdue University, Bryson married Lexie and they now have a daughter, Norah, and a two sons, William and Henry. After Purdue, Bryson served in the US Air Force for fourteen years, during which a short time in the DMV allowed for Bryson and Lexie to be blessed by the preaching, teaching, and saints of DRBC. He transitioned to the USAF Reserves and returned to DRBC in 2022. Currently, Bryson is finishing a Master of Divinity degree from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He desires to serve DRBC well and, Lord willing, pastor a church some day.

Jocelyn Amesbury – Clerk

Jocelyn is thankful to the Lord Jesus Christ for saving her at a young age and for continually growing her awareness of the beauty of His gospel ever since then. As a former military kid, she has moved upwards of a dozen times and would be happy to regale you with a complicated explanation of where she is from. Providentially she was led to the DC area in 2021 to pursue graduate studies in English pedagogy, and has been overjoyed to find a home in Del Ray Baptist. She works in education and loves spending time with her family and church family, long books, long walks, and slowly writing a monograph on the topic of everything.

Andrew Ferguson – Deacon of Children’s Ministry

Andrew grew up in a Christian home in St. Louis, Missouri, where he came to know the Lord at a young age. He met his wife, Kayla, while attending Patrick Henry College in Purcellville, Virginia. They have been married since 2014 and currently have three children. Following law school, they moved back to the Northern Virginia area in 2018 and joined Del Ray Baptist Church later that year. Andrew enjoys yard and home improvement projects, baking (with Kayla), and following the St. Louis Cardinals.

Kayla Fergson – Deaconess of Children’s Ministry

Kayla grew up in a Christian home in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and came to know the Lord at a young age. She met her husband, Andrew, while attending Patrick Henry College in Purcellville, Virginia. They were married in 2014 and moved to Massachusetts for law school, where Kayla served in their church’s children’s ministry. Following law school, they returned to Virginia and have been members of Del Ray Baptist Church since 2018. Kayla enjoys running, baking, and exploring with her children.

Tyler Costas – Deacon of Children’s Ministry

Tyler grew up in Valparaiso, Indiana in a loving, Christian home. By God’s grace, Tyler came to believe in the gospel in early adulthood. He met his wife Hannah while working on a political campaign and the two were married in 2019. Tyler and Hannah are expecting a baby girl in February 2023. In his free time, Tyler enjoys watching sports, playing disc golf, going for walks, and building IKEA furniture.

Hannah Costas – Deaconess of Children’s Ministry

Hannah grew up in Syracuse, Indiana in a home with believing parents who faithfully preached the gospel to her. By the Lord’s grace, Hannah was convicted of her sin, believed the gospel, and put her trust in Christ as her Lord and Savior after graduating college. The political world brought Hannah and her husband Tyler to the DMV where she worked on and off Capitol Hill for three years. The Lord recently reinstilled one of Hannah’s childhood dreams of becoming a teacher and she gladly exited politics, taking a job as a fourth grade teacher at Potomac Classical Conversatory. Hannah enjoys reading all the children’s literature she knows her students will love, hosting tea parties, and taking walks on all the trails NOVA has to offer.

Katie Crampton – Deaconess of Children’s Ministry

Katie grew up in small town Mississippi but is sadly lacking in a strong southern accent. God graciously opened her eyes to her sin and Christ’s sufficiency to save when she was a teenager. After college, she spent a few years in India and can still remember a few words in Hindi. Katie teaches adorable first graders how to read at Potomac Classical Conservatory. She loves being outside, spending time with friends, oil painting on rare occasions, and honing her spike ball game.

Shanna Gidwani – Deaconess of Community Care

Shanna grew up in Northern Virginia. At the restaurant she worked at while attending George Mason University, she met a group of fellow students who were Christians. She saw their love for God and knew they had something she didn’t – God’s indwelling love. After asking herself a lot of questions and being convicted of her sin, she let go of her pride and accepted Christ as Lord and Savior over her life. She attended McLean Bible Church for more than 10 years before being led to worship and serve at a church in her neighborhood, becoming a DRBC member in 2019. Her previous experience working for a non-profit that helps low-income individuals find employment has been useful as she serves our neighbors in Community Care. Shanna enjoys Olympic Weightlift Training, biking, dancing, and serving others.

Andrew Travis – Deacon of Community Care

Andrew was born and spent most of his childhood in the Philadelphia, PA area. By God’s grace, he trusted in Christ at a young age through the faithful gospel witness of his parents. In the fall of 2018, he moved to Alexandria and became a member at Del Ray, where he met his wife Jess in a Community Group. They married in June 2021 and live in Washington, DC. He enjoys spending time with friends, exploring DC, a well-formatted spreadsheet, and having his heart broken by Philadelphia’s sports teams.

Michelle Sloan – Deaconess of Community Care

Michelle grew up in Fredericksburg, Virginia and was blessed with parents that preached the Gospel to her from a young age. She believed and was saved while attending Grove City College in Pennsylvania. After studying elementary and special education in college, she moved to the DMV to teach. She taught for seven years in Washington, DC, during which time she began attending Del Ray Baptist Church and was blessed to join the Community Care Team. Michelle enjoys hiking, board games, organizing everything, and spending time with friends.

Valerie Dowling – Deaconess of Greeting and Integration

info coming soon…

Jess Travis – Deaconess of Hospitality

Jess was raised in a loving, Christian home in northern New Jersey. By God’s grace, she trusted in Christ for salvation at a young age and has seen the Lord’s faithfulness on display throughout the various seasons of her life. She moved to the DC area in 2015 and became a member of DRBC shortly thereafter. She currently lives in Alexandria, VA with her husband, Andrew. She is exceedingly thankful for the countless ways that the Lord has used DRBC members to strengthen and encourage her faith – and seeks to repay some of that kindness by providing tasty coffee.

Anthony Nalley – Deacon of Hospitality

Anthony was raised in a Christian home by two parents that love the Lord. He was converted at 19 years old by a conversation with his father when he realized he was on a path to hell. A few years after college, Anthony moved to DC where he landed at Dell Ray Baptist Church. There he found rich discipleship along with faithful teaching and preaching. His spiritual growth really took off when he started to read the Bible every day, treasuring God’s words more than daily food (Job 23:12). Several years later he met his wife Kelley and have been married for almost a year now. Anthony enjoys home improvement projects, deep relationships, and learning new things.

Ravi Berwa – Deacon of Member Care

Ravi was born in Maryland, but grew up in Virginia where he came to know the Lord from the faithful witness of a friend in High School. He joined the military after high school and served in the United States Marine Corps Reserve for eight years. After multiple deployments overseas, he learned first-hand how to care for, grieve and empathize with various families facing a multitude of challenges. These experiences instilled in him a greater desire to love and serve people well for God’s glory even after he returned home. He joined Del Ray Baptist Church in 2017 and serves on the greeting, hospitality, and member care teams. In his spare time he enjoys reading, spending time with friends, playing sports and serving others.

Justin Hughes – Deacon of Member Care

Justin grew up right here in Alexandria, VA in a Christian home. He heard and believed the gospel at a young age and was baptized at First Baptist Church Alexandria. He attended Wake Forest University for college followed by VCU for dental school where he met his wife Laura. They journeyed up to NYC and then out to Iowa for residency and finally returned back home to Alexandria where Justin practices orthodontics with his dad. Justin and Laura are so thankful for the faithful preaching and loving community of believers at DRBC. In his spare time, Justin enjoys the outdoors, sports, coffee, powerlifting, and spending time with family and friends.

Laura Hughes – Deaconess of Member Care

Laura Hughes grew up in Midlothian VA. Truly grateful for the faithful shepherding of her parents and local church family, Laura came to trust in our Savior Jesus Christ as her Lord from a young age. Homeschooled through 9th grade and then attending public school 10th-12th, Laura is thankful for the Lord’s protection and faithfulness to continue drawing her ever nearer by His grace. Laura attended VCU for a degree in Exercise Science and at the conclusion of her Junior year was cleverly introduced to her husband Justin by her sneaky, intentional roommate who was in Justin’s community group. Laura and Justin were married in May of 2013 and immediately moved to NYC for Justin’s dental residency program. After nannying in NYC for the year, Justin and Laura moved to Iowa City for Justin to complete his studies while Laura worked as the Front Office Manager for a Children’s Therapy Center. Justin and Laura have lived and attended Del Ray since their move to Alexandria in 2016. Laura is currently a stay at home mom raising her 1yr old son Caleb, with a little sister on the way in Feb 2019. Laura deeply enjoys meeting up with others for playdates and coffee times, exercise, warm fires, anything outside, and a really good laugh!

James Nelson – Deacon of Ordinances

James grew up in a Christian home in southern California, where he trusted in Christ at a young age. He met his wife, Kira, while attending Patrick Henry College in Purcellville, Virginia. They have been married since 2013 and currently have three boys. After law school and a clerkship in Boston and Pittsburgh, they moved back to Virginia in 2017 and quickly joined Del Ray Baptist Church. James enjoys spending time with his kids, coffee, mowing his lawn, watching basketball, and eating meals with the amazing DRBC community.

JayJay Kim – Deacon of Audio/Visual

JayJay was born in Busan, South Korea into a Christian family. He and his family immigrated to the US in August of 2002, right after the Korea & Japan World Cup. When he first came to the States, he moved from one Korean church to another every year, but he did not hear the gospel until he was in high school. He thought Christianity was about do’s and don’t’s. He finally landed at a church where he heard the Gospel through the faithful discipleship of a Youth Pastor who helped him understand that the gospel is not only for unbelievers, but for believers as well. God led JayJay and his wife Anne to Del Ray Baptist Church in the summer of 2014, as they were seeking to grow in a healthy church body while pursuing marriage. JayJay always enjoyed playing with technology. He once took apart a broken cassette tape player to fix it only to realize he didn’t know how to put it back together. He enjoys seeing the light, delighting in his wife, and awaiting everlasting life.

Scott Terrell – Deacon of Finance

Scott grew up moving every few years as part of a military family, before settling in Maryland for his high school years. He first heard and believed the Gospel and came to know the Lord through the ministry of some close friends and a local church. Scott attended Virginia Tech where he studied statistics, mathematics, and economics. Upon graduating, Scott moved to Northern Virginia in 2014 for work. In 2017, he married his high-school sweetheart, Sarah, and they began attending DRBC later that year. In his free time, Scott enjoys watching and refereeing soccer, taking long walks with his wife and their dog, and playing strategy board games.

Sarah Rea – Deaconess of Events

Sarah was born and raised in Statesville, North Carolina in a home with believing parents and in a church that preached the gospel. By God’s grace, she doesn’t remember a time she didn’t believe that Jesus was her Lord and Savior, and she repented of her sin, trusting in Christ, at a young age. She attended Cedarville University in Ohio where she met her husband, Tyler. They moved to Northern Virginia in late 2018 for work, and in the Lord’s kindness, found DRBC early on. Since then, Sarah has grown in her love and esteem for the local church, especially the dear saints at DRBC, in her appreciation for the gospel and the Word, and in her delight in Jesus through the discipleship and fellowship of DRBC. Sarah and Tyler have one child, born in September of 2022, and in her spare time, she enjoys snuggling with her baby boy, meeting up with friends for coffee, arranging flowers, spending time outside, and playing strategy board games.

Tyler Rea – Deacon of Facilities

Tyler grew up in Western PA and came to believe the gospel during his middle school years. He attended Cedarville University in Ohio, earning a degree in Mechanical Engineering, but more importantly, experiencing a depth of discipleship and love for God’s Word that he hadn’t seen before. He grew exponentially in his love for Christ and obedience to his Word while he was a student at Cedarville, and was also introduced to his now-wife, Sarah, by some mutual friends. They married in December of 2017 and moved to Northern Virginia in late 2018, and by God’s grace, quickly found DRBC. Tyler has come to see and love Jesus more because of the discipleship of DRBC, and loves to be helpful to the body in whatever ways he can. Sarah and Tyler have a son, born in September of 2022, and in his free time, Tyler enjoys reading sci-fi novels, playing video games, watching movies, hanging out with friends, and playing strategy board games.

Tess Warmka -Deaconess of Missions

Info Coming Soon…