Our Pastors and Staff

 

 

/files/Images/About Us images/neilsmith_ 01_Resized_180x270.jpg Dr. Neil D. Smith, Senior Pastor

Neil has been the Senior Pastor of Faith since 1997. A western Pennsylvania native, he is a 1977 graduate of Grove City College and a 1983 graduate of Princeton Theological Seminary (but please don’t hold this against him!). He earned a Doctor of Ministry from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in 2007. Neil previously served churches in Altoona, PA (1986-1997) and Downingtown, PA (1983-1986).

Neil came to faith in Christ at a revival service in his home church at the age of eleven. He sensed a call from God to full-time ministry at the age of fourteen. He considers himself a blessed man to have the privilege to serve as Pastor of Faith.

Neil and his wife Mary Sue were married in 1977 and live in West Springfield. They are the parents of three children: Erin, Lindsay, and Nathan.

While he has adopted the Redskins and Nationals as his second-favorite football and baseball teams, respectively, he remains a loyal and devoted fan of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Pittsburgh Pirates, the teams he has followed since childhood.

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Rev. David Fischler, Pastor for Church Planting

David was born of Jewish parents in New Jersey. He became a Christian in college after reading the Bible for the first time. He was educated at Rutgers University and Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, and is currently a Doctor of Ministry student at Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry in Pennsylvania.

David spent over 22 years in the pastorate in North Carolina, serving churches in the United Methodist and Moravian denominations before coming to Faith Church in March of 2006. He has long dreamed of being a church planter, and was delighted when God called him to that work in the Evangelical Presbyterian Church in 2006.

David and his wife of 26 years, Maryanne, have one daughter, Rebecca, who recently received her Master’s degree from the University of Wisconsin. David is an avid chess player, a life long baseball fan (go Braves!), a voracious reader of science fiction, an Internet blogger, a player of the autoharp, and an amateur student of astronomy and cosmology. Click here to visit David's blog.  

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Rev. Robert Barnett, Pastor for Outreach and Discipleship

Bob is passionate about introducing others to Jesus and helping them become real disciples who serve God in every area of their lives.  He received Jesus Christ as Savior in 1980 when, through the witness of his wife Theresa, the Lord changed his heart to confess his sinfulness and respond to the gospel.  This began a life-changing and exciting relationship with God.

Bob graduated from the University of Louisiana-Monroe in 1978, and from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary with a Master of Divinity (1999) and a Master of Theology (2002).  He served as a US Army officer and as a product release manager in the software industry in North Carolina, while ministering part-time with The Navigators.  After seminary, Bob served for four years on the ministry staff of Gordon-Conwell’s Mockler Center for Faith and Ethics in the Workplace and then, as small groups coordinator while interning at an Orthodox Presbyterian church in Massachusetts.  He joined the pastoral team at Faith Church in 2005.

Bob and Theresa have been happily married since 1978 and live in Kingstowne.  They have three grown daughters, Lisa, Jenn, and Krista.  Bob enjoys reading history and biography, watching old movies (with pizza!), and hiking around the trails and historic sites of Virginia.

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Nathanael de Poix, Youth Director

Nathanael has a passion for equipping young people to fulfill "their purpose for their generation" (Acts 13:36) by encouraging them to live out their faith in all they do. He grew up in a Christian home and was led to Christ by his mother when he was eight years old. Nevertheless, Nathanael began to "drift" from Christ during adolescence. It was not until 13 years later in the spring of 2004, while living and studying in Blacksburg at Virginia Tech, that his relationship with God was reignited.

Nathanael graduated from Virginia Tech with a B.A. in Spanish (2000) and returned to pursue a Masters degree in Education (2003-2004) with a concentration in Spanish. After having taught Spanish for two years in Richmond, Virginia and having acquired an M.A. in education, Nathanael began to feel the "stirring" in his heart to actively seek out opportunities in full-time ministry.

After leaving the public school system, Nathanael spent a summer leading mission trips in Mexico. It was there in Tijuana, Mexico that a visiting church offered him the position of Youth Director in Stafford, Virginia, where he served from 2005-2007.  He joined the ministry team of Faith Church in September 2007.

Nathanael enjoys spending his time with his wife Carrie who is also his greatest supporter and partner in ministry. In his free time, he can be found with his friends and family or feeding the "travelbug" in a variety of ways.

Julie's photo is coming soon!

Julie Cloutier, Children's Ministry  Director

Julie has a passion for children.  Her favorite Bible verse is Mathew 18:5: “Whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me.”  It is the desire of Julie’s heart to have children come to the saving knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  At the age of 10 years, she was introduced to the Christian faith and accepted Christ when she was 12 years old.  As a teenager, she began to move away from Christ, but in her late 20’s she saw God working in her life.  She says that “God will put you flat on your back so you can see His face”. And that’s what He did.  She is so thankful for that.

Julie was born and raised in Virginia and remains there to this day – can you believe that?  She graduated from JEB Stuart High School and attended Northern Virginia Community College for one year, Julie has had a variety of jobs ranging from the Department of Defense to Georgetown University Hospital. She has been a Kindergarten teaching assistant at Immanuel Christian School, a Sunday school teacher, and for the last 11 years, our Vacation Bible School Director.  She joined the ministry team at Faith Church in March 2008.

Julie and her husband Paul live in Springfield, Virginia with their four children - Ashley, Amber, Abby and Asa, who range from ages 2 to 17.  She enjoys quality time with her family.

 

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Adam Rice, Music Director

Adam has a passion for music, especially classical and contemporary Christian and church music, and desires to use music to enhance the worship of God for those who attend Faith Church.  He accepted Christ as a child and was blessed to be raised by loving parents in a Christian home.  He has been with Faith Church since 1996, and in Fall 2006 began serving as our Music Director.

Adam graduated from Longwood University in 1996, with a degree in Music and Education, and from George Mason University in 2003 with a Masters degree in Educational Technology.  He taught fourth grade for eight years in the Fairfax County Public Schools and currently is a School-Based Technology Specialist at West Springfield Elementary in Springfield, Virginia.  For nine years, he served his high school alma mater, Thomas A. Edison High School, as the spring musical music director.  Adam thoroughly enjoys sharing his gift of music with others through church, weddings, and other special events.

Adam and Rita have been happily married since 1997 and live in Alexandria with their two daughters, Emily and Olivia.  He relishes the time he spends with his family, enjoys playing golf (though he does not consider himself a “golfer”), and takes his vacations at the beach.  And, he bleeds burgundy and gold as he cheers on his beloved Washington Redskins! 

  

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Joanna Knoles, Office Manager and Financial Secretary 

Joanna is from Carnegie, PA, and grew up in the Russian Orthodox Church. Joanna’s family has a strong Russian background and it is through that heritage and God’s love that she has traversed her path in life.  She enjoys the liturgy and ceremony of the Russian church, and visits her home church each year for their traditional Easter services. 

Before coming to Faith Church, Joanna had a rewarding 20 year career with Exxon Mobil as a Bookkeeper/Accountant and Financial Office Manager, and then as Financial Office Manager/Accountant with a prestigious law firm in Northern Virginia.  In 2005, she came to Faith Church to serve as our Office Manager and Financial Secretary.

Joanna resides in Kingstowne with her son Jason, who often helps out with various tasks at the church on his days off.  Even though working with numbers is what she does for a living, people are what make her life whole.  She loves the opportunity to use her compassion and caring skills to serve the community and the people who come by the church office.  Joanna enjoys writing and has had one of her short stories published in Northern Virginia Magazine. 

 

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Lauren Cerce, Administrative Assistant

Lauren is a young woman with a passion to disciple and minister to youth, a desire to minister and work with young women in crisis pregnancies, and an interest in American Sign language.  She grew up in a pastor’s home and accepted Jesus as her Savior when she was five. Lauren is active at Harvest Church in Alexandria, where her father is pastor, and volunteers as a youth leader, drama club leader, Sunday school teacher, and in various outreach ministries.

In May of 2005 Lauren graduated from Valley Forge Christian College with a B.S. in Psychology and plans to pursue a Masters in Counseling or Psychology.  She currently volunteers at the Alexandria Pregnancy Help Center and would eventually like to work as a counselor in that capacity.  Lauren currently resides in Lorton.