Lead Pastor

Benson grew up in San Antonio, Texas and received his undergrad at Kansas State University.  He later received his Masters of Divinity from Duke University in North Carolina.   Benson first pastored a church in Virginia Beach and then joined the staff here at Gainesville Church in 2017 as the church planting pastor of our second campus, Revive House Church.  Continuing to see the church grow, sharing Jesus and reaching people who have never been to church is Benson's passion!   When he's not serving the church he enjoys spending time with his family, wife Alicia, their young son & their two energetic dogs named Bean and Duncan.  If you've met Benson, you know he is a self proclaimed "nerd" & "super goofy", and on long weekends you can find him riding his bike and spending time with family & friends.

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Executive Director

Wendy is a Wisconsin native, and graduated with a degree in Business Management.  She is a long time member of Gainesville Church along with her husband Chris and 3 boys.  She is passionate about helping people grow in their faith and become involved in the church community.  When she is not serving at the church, she enjoys spending time with her family, going to concerts, reading and taking care of her plant collection.

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Worship Director

Adam was born and raised in the greater Philly area (Delco gang rise up!).  Even as a young 16 year old his passion for music and worship began to merge as he embraced leadership roles in his local church.  He graduated with a degree in music & business from Eastern University and came to Gainesville church in 2016, along with his wife Carol Ann.  Adam is passionate about worshipping God through music & he absolutely loves building relationships with people in the church.  Fun fact about Adam is that when he's not leading worship his favorite genre of music is heavy metal (yes, like guys screaming and guitars playing at the speed of light...he loves it!).  

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Youth Director

Bert is passionate about middle & high school students experiencing life-changing faith in a fun & loving community.  Bert grew up in a military family stationed all over the US...from Hawaii, to California, to North Carolina & Virginia.   After attending high school in Northern Virginia, he graduated from Roanoke College with a degree in Religious Studies.  Bert and his wife Liesl currently call Centreville home.  

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Choir Director

Janet is a Western Kentucky native, and grew up along the beautiful Tennessee River.  She received her degree in Music Education from Murray State University, and continued with graduate work at Oberlin College & George Mason University here in Virginia.  Janet taught High School music & chorus in the Fairfax County Schools for over 22 years before joining us at Gainesville Church as the Choir Director.  Janet has a passion for children, youth and adult choirs and enjoys spending time with her family and participating in Women's groups here at the church.

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Connections Director

Lisa is passionate about pointing people to Christ and helping to foster a community of friends that truly do life together.  Originally from California, Lisa attended Los Medanos College for Business Management and then lived in 18 homes, in 7 different states traveling with her husband, Hayes, Coast Guard career.  When Lisa isn't serving, singing and working at the church she enjoys spending time with her family...her husband Hayes of 31 years, two adult daughters, and 2 grandchildren.

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AV Director & Database Manager

Patrick is a Northern Virginia native, growing up in Fairfax County before attending Shenandoah University.  Patrick is a passionate perfectionist when it comes to being behind our sound board.  With a degree in Music Production & Recording Technology he plays an important role in the quality of our worship services.  As a new parent of a baby girl, along with his wife Nora, they spend much of their free time together as a family.  

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Children's Education Director

Renee is passionate about teaching children how much God loves them here at Gainesville Church!  She is a California native, with a marketing degree from San Jose State University.  Renee grew up as an active member in her local Catholic Church and began a personal walk with Jesus at a Young Life camp in High School.  Renee has a very active family with her husband Eric & two kids in high school.   When she's not at church, they enjoy the outdoors, sports and working out.

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Assistant Children's Education Director

Carrie truly loves working with children and helping them to build a personal relationship with Jesus.  She grew up in Western Pennsylvania in a very faithful family attending her local church.  As a former school teacher, Carrie is passionate about education and graduated with a Masters Degree in Education, with a specialization in Gifted Education.  When she's not here at Gainesville Church, Carrie enjoys crafting and baking with her 3 young girls, and spending time with her husband Steven.

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Receptionist

Bernadette grew up in Maryland before moving to Northern Virginia.  After attending Gainesville Church for many years, she became a part of our staff team in 2017.  Bernadette's passion is helping people in need as she leads our community assistance program.  When she's not serving here at the church she is a phenomenal quilter & seamstress.  She also enjoys spending time with her husband and two adult children.

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Office Manager

Melonie is new to the Northern Virginia area recently moving from North Carolina with her husband and 4 children.  She graduated with a degree in Interior Architecture and Graphic Design from the University of NC in Greensboro.  She served as the Communications Director at her former church in NC before moving to VA and joining Gainesville Church family.  She has a passion for design, church communications, and reaching the un-churched in our community.

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Strategic Support

Gary is a Brooklyn, NY native & retired Marine.  He graduated from the University of New Mexico and later recieved his MS in National Security and Strategic Studies while serving as a Professor of Military Strategy and Operations at the National War College, National Defense University in Washington, DC.  He retired from the Marine Corps after 30 years, as a Colonel.  He has since worn many hats as a strategic consultant and business owner.  Gary has attended GUMC for about 5 years and he's passionate about taking on new church projects, making us more efficient as a team, and able to better serve our community.  He has been married for nearly 45 years, has 2 grown children and 3 grandchildren.  He has been learning to play the guitar and says "I can probably play as well as a 5th grader now..."

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Ministry Intern

Karl is a northern Virginia native and is currently attending a local college while exploring the possibility of being calling into ministry.  Karl has attended GUMC for over 15 years and recently accepted the position of Ministry Intern to both grow in his faith & gain the experience of working directly in ministry.  He is passionate about bringing as many people as possible to the knowledge and faith in Jesus Christ.  When he's not serving here at the church you can find him enjoying time with friends, hiking, fishing, weightlifting and busy with school.

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Bean is a wise and gentle soul, passionate about ministry and staff morale. He's been in ministry his whole life.  Bean knows the key to a good day at church begins with a full breakfast. You can find him every morning waiting patiently outside the church kitchen, while a certain human prepares him bacon, eggs, and cheese. The rest of the day you can find him checking on the staff, knowing the best way to cheer us up is by having us scratch his back or give him a treat.