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| Click here to contact Dee |
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| Dee Whitten, Pastor |
My roots are in Memphis, Tennessee, where I was born and raised in a family of four children. All four of us attended Vanderbilt University in Nashville where I spent a lot of my Dad’s hard-earned money earning a B.A. degree in political science. My original desire was to earn a law degree and become involved in politics (still an avocation of mine). However, God had different plans for me. In the middle of my junior year at Vanderbilt I had a life changing experience and decided to go in a completely new direction. I attended seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, with the original intent of being involved in inner-city Christian social ministries.
It was in Louisville that I met my wife, Jane, who is from the St. Augustine, Florida, area. She and I were fellow students at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. We were married immediately following my graduation, and we served for four years in a small, inner city church in Louisville. However, again, God had slightly different plans for us. I accepted a position as pastor of a church in Alexandria, Virginia, and then, five years later, was called to another church in Stafford, Mount Ararat Baptist Church.
We served at Mount Ararat for 16 wonderful years, and then God had new plans for us. I left Mount Ararat in order to consult with pastors and churches as the Team Leader for the Empowering Leaders Team with the Virginia Baptist Mission Board. In 2008 Fairview called me to serve as the pastor for a new multi-site called Fairview at River Club.
Jane and I were blessed to raise two daughters, Allison and Julianne, while in Stafford. Allison, our older daughter, is married to a Marine Corps officer, and they are continually moving around the country. They have two amazing sons, Jake (3 years old) and Cole (one year old). Jane and I spend a lot of time on Skype with them. Our younger daughter, Julianne, graduated from Palm Beach Atlantic University in West Palm Beach, Florida, and she is married to Matt Paxson, our Sub30 pastor at River Club. She is currently working with a law firm in Washington, D.C.
Jane and I are thrilled to be part of this exciting adventure at River Club!
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| JC Mason, Worship Leader |
I was born in Alexandria Virginia and raised in Fredericksburg most of my life. With two brothers and one sister, our house was always filled with music and singing. I am the youngest of four and always looked forward to listening to their bands practice in our family room. To me there was nothing like hearing the resonating sound of drums throughout our home. I would watch my sister play guitar and soon I began to pick up the guitar and emulated what she had played. At the age of 8 I discovered that I loved to write lyrics and than began to put them to music.
When I was fourteen I gave my life to Christ. A few years later I walked away from his plan for my life and tried my own way for awhile. At eighteen I became a mother. Through all the confusing times I went through, there was only one thing that was constant; the same Lord I gave my life to years before never left me. Never.
In 1998 my husband (Mike) and four children (Jessica, Drew, Michael, Rebekah) began to attend Shady Grove United Methodist Church. The pastor came out one day to my house to thank me for visiting and he began to talk about starting some contemporary worship. I told him that I sing and play guitar. He was thrilled and wanted me to come and start playing some special music during Sunday services. He left and I was freaked out to say the least! I hadn't picked up the guitar in over 5 years much less know any Christian music. I pulled a guitar out from under my bed and began to play. It was at that moment I recommitted my life to Christ and wrote a song dedicating my life to him. I have been writing ever since and singing the praises of this amazing God who pursued me with his love through the reality of Christ!
How blessed I feel to be a part of Fairview at River Club! My passion is for everyone to know the love of God so that their lives will overflow with thankfulness. I long to lead hearts through song into the threshold of God's heart! There is a resonating pulse in us all that longs to worship Him, so please accept my invitation to come and worship with us! We are gonna have a blast! |
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| James Bauslaugh, Student Minister |
My name is James Bauslaugh and I am the Student Minister at Fairview at River Club. My wife, Emily, and I were born and raised in Michigan where we graduated from Spring Arbor University. I graduated with a degree in Youth Ministry with a concentration in Biblical Studies.
I have a deep passion to share the Word of God to youth of our nation and I am so blessed to have the opportunity to do that at Fairview at River Club. At FRC we make it our goal to provide a fun and engaging atmoshphere where we can form relationships with the students and share with them what it looks like to have a relationship with the God of the universe!
It has been so fun serving at such an awesome church and I look forward to all that God has in store for us as we move forward in serving with excellence!
I pray that you consider joining us at FRC in our goal of reaching the city of Fredericksburg for Jesus one person at a time!
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| Click here to contact Marcie |
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| Marcie Cramsey, Children's Minister |
I was raised in Northern Virginia. My ministry experience covers small and large church environments. For 12 years my family and I attended McLean Bible Church; we saw this church grow from 750 members to 15,000! It was here that God called and intentionally equipped me in Children's Ministry. Then God continued this equipping as we moved to a small church in Warrenton, Va. In this church I filled the role as mentor and equipper of the volunteer team. As a result, this ministry to children grew beyond the church's capacity, providing opportunity for a church plant; I was asked to help start the new church's Children's Ministry. From Warrenton, God moved our family to Culpeper, Va. and called me to direct the Children's Ministry of Mountain View Community Church.
At present, God has called my family to Fairview at River Club. We are very excited to be here! Giving you a window into my heart, I would like to tell you what I love the most! This is important, because the outpouring of this love forms the vision for the children's ministry at River Club.
First, I love Jesus! Saving me at age 16, God become my Father who loves me unconditionally; He has never disappointed me; He is my equipper in all things. Understanding this truth gives me the same confidence that Paul claimed in Philippians 1:6, "For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus." As I am a work in progress, I believe that Children's Ministry is, too. With complete confidence, I believe that God will fulfill His end in perfecting me as the leader and all that entails Kids Quest!
Second, I love kids! I believe that a ministry to children is much like the day when parents brought their children to Jesus to be touched and prayed for by Him. (Mark 19:13-14). Each Sunday morning when a child is brought into the ministry, parents are bringing their children to Jesus, to be touched and blessed by Him. The very hands of the volunteers represent the hands of Jesus. One of the goals I have for each child when they leave church, is for parents to see that their children have been with the Lord!
Third, I love being a wife and mother! My husband, Dan, and I have been married for over 25 years and we have four children ranging from ages 15-21.God began His equipping in me during these two roles of being wife and mother. Without this foundation, I could not be a successful Children's Minister.
Fourth, I love parents and volunteers! It is my desire to equip and mentor parents and volunteers in raising and teaching children to be sold-out disciples for Jesus. My mission is to grow children deep and wide: deep in Jesus and wide in influence. I believe that a Children's Ministry reaches its peak of success when all three, Children's Minister, Volunteers, and Parents, partner together in raising children that glorify our Great God! I look forward to the adventures God has in store for us all. |
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| Matt Paxson, Sub30 Minister |
From an early age I felt the call to serve the local church as a pastor. To prepare academically, I attended Oral Roberts University where I earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Theology. Upon graduation, I attended Regent University where I received a Masters of Divinity and a Masters in Public Policy degrees. Throughout this journey, I spent a summer studying Arabic in Israel, traveled to Argentina and El Salvador on mission trips, served as a chaplain, and directed peer-mentoring programs.
The idea behind Sub30 at River Club is to be an authentic community where people can belong before they believe. Where someone can wrestle with doubts, explore why Jesus is such a big deal, and take next steps in living the life we are all meant to live. It is a community for doubters, explorers, and followers of Christ. Basically, a church for people like you and me. |
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| Steve Mudre, Minister of Discipleship & Connections |
I grew up in Arlington VA, when it was still considered a suburb. Most of my youth was spent on a ball field or somewhere outdoors. I attended Washington-Lee High School, where I started dating my wife-to-be (now at 34 years) Cathy. We both went on to attend Virginia Tech, where I graduated with a degree in Fisheries and Wildlife and Cathy in Elementary Education.
Cathy had invited me to a Young Life weekly "club" our junior year of High School and I eagerly attended having no idea what I was going to find. The following summer I gave my life to Jesus Christ at a Young Life summer camp at Saranac Lake, in upstate New York…it was beautiful, sitting on a big rock, beside a moonlit lake under a star-filled sky. God was showing off that night.
We have two children, who are also both Hokies. Julia is an Art Director for an Advertising Agency in Georgetown, and David just graduated with a degree in Music Technology.
After college, Cathy and I spent 3 years in Conway SC, then 3 more in Salem VA, before coming back to Virginia to develop and manage the day to day operations of Anna Point Marina. We lived on-site and the commute was great.
We began attending Fairview Baptist Church in 1996 and knew immediately we had found the church home we had been looking for (despite the 35 minute drive each way). We both became actively involved as Cathy worked with the youth and I taught Sunday School and eventually served several times as Deacon Chairman, and Small Groups Coordinator.
As the River Club site was coming into focus is when I really felt God leading me to pour even more of my energy into this "new thing" God was doing. I can remember going thru Rick Warren's Purpose Driven Church, with our Sunday School Class, and the light bulbs just kept coming on. Pastor Dee arrived with the vision for River Club and the rest is history. The Marina life was great, and thru the gracious nature/gesture of the owners, I was able to pursue my new God-given challenge at River Club.
I started out with the original "Strategy Team", as Dee led us thru the process of setting the course for River Club. Since our opening in 2008, I kept my original position as Small Groups Coordinator, then combined that with Connections Minister duties, and also provide administrative support as needed. |
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| Sandy Yates, Communication & Publication Specialist |
I was born and raised in Tennessee. That automatically means I do NOT listen to country music! Most of my childhood was spent in Middle Tennessee, where my husband and I met in high school band. After he graduated from Tennessee Tech., we moved to Fredericksburg, where we have been for the past 15 years.
We came to Fairview Baptist in 1997 and found a loving community of believers. I earned my BA in Communication Arts and Design from Virginia Commonwealth University (Go RAMS!) in 2000. I was involved in the contemporary service at Fairview for several years, so it was a natural transition to the new site at River Club. I love being able to work for our Lord while having plenty of family time! |
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| Click here to contact Teresa |
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| Teresa Smith, Administrative Assistant |
I was born and raised in Fredericksburg, less than one-half mile from the Fairview at River Club site. Growing up with two sisters we spent a lot of time on, and around, Tidewater Trail. I am thrilled to worship at Fairview at River Club and am eager to share the love of Christ in the neighborhood where I grew up.
I attended Courtland High School and was part of the first graduating class in 1982. As a high school athlete, I played softball and basketball. I also played softball for Fairview’s women’s team. This is when I met my husband Denny, who was playing for Shady Grove United Methodist. He saw me pitching for Fairview one day and told a mutual friend that he’d give his eye teeth to go out with me…the rest is history!
Denny and I have two daughters, Katelyn and Sierra. They have truly been a blessing to us and we have enjoyed the typical joys and trials of raising children. They both like to play field hockey, travel and sing. Katelyn plays keyboard and sings in the Fairview Praise Team and Sierra hopes to do the same. It is exciting for me that they have been raised at Fairview as I was many years ago.
I slipped away from the church scene around 1983 and was just too busy with “life” to go to church. In the fall of 1996, I experienced a number of devastating events and just felt lost. When I walked into the foyer at Fairview for a funeral, I felt as if God had wrapped His arms around me that very moment. That next Sunday I returned to Fairview, and by November, I had recommitted my life to Christ. I found many of my Sunday School teachers and youth leaders were still there and many warm memories came flooding back! Everyday I seek His will for my life and I am on an exciting ride with Him as I believe he led me back to Fairview for such a time as this. I am ready to share His love and His plan of salvation through Fairview at River Club. |
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