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Our Leadership
Staff Pastor
Ben Palka
Ben graduated from the State University of New York College at Buffalo State with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication (B.A.). He earned both a Master of Divinity (MDiv.) and Master of Theology (ThM.) from Southeastern Baptist. He has several years of church, pastoral, and overseas experience. In addition, he has professional experience in the Defense and National Security industry. He also serves in Major League Baseball as team chaplain.
Staff Pastor
Wesley Welch
Wesley graduated from Valdosta State University with a Bachelor of Arts in History and minor in Religious Studies (B.A.). He pursued his Master of Divinity (MDiv.) from Southeastern Baptist. He has several years of church and pastoral experience. In addition, he has management experience in the hospitality industry. He is married to Abby and has two daughters named Ellison and Harper.
Operations Director
Calla Jordan
Calla hails from Chicago and is an alumna of Northwestern University. After graduation, she spent nine fruitful years in the rainy-but-beautiful Pacific Northwest, where Seattle was her home. During her time there, she worked in corporate training, sales, and marketing at Microsoft. The call to full-time vocational ministry led her to serve as the Executive Director of a church plant and as a volunteer instructor at Seattle's Union Gospel Mission. She has recently relocated to the other Washington, Washington, D.C., ready to serve the Lord.
Women's Discipleship
Sarah Anderson
Sarah, a native Kansan, graduated from Calvary University with a Bachelor of Arts in Music Education and a Minor in Bible and Theology (B.A) and earned a Master of Music in Vocal Performance from Bob Jones University (MM.) Sarah has decades of lay ministry as a worship leader, Bible teacher and women’s mentor. She is passionate about having a Titus 2 ministry at King’s Church. Sarah has been married to Richard for over 26 years and they are parents to two sons, Will and Chase.
Pastoral Resident
Michael McDowell
Michael is a native Texan and an alumnus of Rice University (B.A.) and Duke Divinity School (MDiv.). He has several years of ministry experience in youth and college ministries and is passionate about communicating the Gospel to young people in cities. He is married to Elizabeth, the love of his life.
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College & Intern Director
Brad Robertson
Brad is originally from West Michigan, commonly referred to as "The Golden Coast of the Midwest." During his junior year of college he interned in DC where he was invited to King's. There, he found faith, was baptized, and began volunteering with the church whenever and wherever he could. Finishing up his degree at Penn State online, he began to also run King's Church Collective, the intern outreach ministry of King's. He is currently pursuing his MDiv at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary.
Ministry Resident
Sam Barry
Sam is a Texas native and a proud Clemson graduate with a degree in Civil Engineering(B.S). After living in DC for a year and half working for a general contractor, she decided to answer her call to ministry and began working at Kings church. Sam has 3 years of high school and college outreach experience and is passionate about glorifying the Lord and making his name known to all people. She is also pursuing a Cross-Cultural Counseling degree from Southeastern Baptist University (SEBTS).
Ministry Resident
Caroline Duke
Caroline was born and raised in Nashville, TN. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Industrial and Systems Engineering with a minor in Business from Auburn University. After completing her degree, Caroline spent two years in Washington, D.C., working in private consulting. Caroline served on multiple teams within King’s Church DC before deciding to commit her industry skills and talents to the church and its mission. She is passionate about fostering a welcoming environment for DC to know the name and mission of Jesus Christ. Alongside her ministry work, she enjoys spending time outdoors with friends and making her way through her ever-growing reading list.
Ministry Resident
Jordan Lockett
Jordan is originally from California and graduated from Liberty University with a Bachelor of Science in Government (B.S.). He is now pursuing his Master of Divinity (Mdiv.) from Southeastern Baptist while finishing his Masters in Public Relations (MPR) from Georgetown University. Jordan has 3 years of ministry experience in college and has served in various ministries as a lay-member of Kings Church for 2 years. Most recently, he was a staffer on Capitol Hill before making the jump into ministry.
Lay Pastor
Richard Anderson
Richard is an executive coach and business consultant who has 30+ years of experience helping leaders discover opportunities to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of their organization and create more long-term value. His primary focus has been to develop resources and tools to help leaders and supervisors cultivate a culture of principled entrepreneurship where every employee understands how the business creates value and is motivated to find ways to drive improvement. Richard and his wife, Sarah, live in Alexandria, Virginia and focus much of their free time mentoring young professionals who work on Capitol Hill.
Lay Pastor
Nolon Blaylock
Nolon is originally from Memphis, Tennessee and graduated from the University of Mississippi with a Bachelor of Accountancy and Master of Taxation. He later earned a Juris Doctor from the University of North Carolina and is now a tax attorney at a firm in DC. Nolon came to love ministry and discipleship through his time volunteering with Young Life. Nolon and his wife Logan live on Capitol Hill with their sweet daughter Osie.
Lay Pastor
Bradley Clarke
Bradley graduated from the Baptist College of Florida with a Bachelor of Arts in Biblical Studies (B.A.). He earned a Master of Divinity (MDiv.) from Southeastern Baptist. He recently earned a Juris Doctor (JD) from The George Washington University Law School. He has several years of college and youth ministry experience. In addition, he has experience in restaurant management. He is married to Leti and has two daughters named Riley and Lauren.
Lay Pastor
Daniel Davis
Daniel graduated from Wheaton College with a Bachelor of Arts in History and a minor in Political Science (B.A.). He is now pursuing his M.A. in Ethics from Southeastern Baptist. He currently works as a communications manager for a Christian nonprofit. He has eight years of experience in Washington, where he has worked in government, think tanks, and media. He is married to Hannah.
Worship Director
Carter Berry
Carter is a native Texan and an alumnus of Texas A&M University, where he studied marketing and music performance. He has been serving churches as a musician, songwriter, and worship director for over a decade. Carter works for a marketing agency and he is married to his wife, Zoie. They live in Arlington, VA.
Diaconate
Liz Gwyn - Good Neighbor
Tierin-Rose Mandelburg - Good Neighbor
Betsy Baber - Hospitality
Bryce Segat - Hospitality
Rachael McBride - Hospitality
Hattie Troutman - Kingdom Kids
Marina Iodice - Kingdom Kids
Meg Emery - Kingdom Kids
Will Nance - Men's Ministry
​Hope Dawson - Photography
Karen Porter - Run Club
Ben Young - Security
Reed Thompson - Security
Garrett Ingram - Security & Set Up/Tear Down
Ben Rakes - Set Up/Tear Down
Caleb Kostreva - Set Up/Tear Down
Meredith Fick - Set Up/Tear Down
About Us
CORE BELIEFS
We believe the Christian faith should not be first defined by its limits, but rather by its central message. The Apostles’ Creed and the Nicene Creed are historic confessions that demonstrate the heart of the Christian faith. King’s Church unites around these creeds as we live life together doing God's good work. In addition to the creeds, members must affirm and believe nine core, orthodox, historic beliefs.
CORE DISTINCTIVES
1. PEOPLE SEEKING GOD​
First and foremost, we are a faith community who seeks the Triune God. As a congregation, our goal is not the accumulation of wealth, the attaining of status, or the securing of political power. We seek God and his renewing power in our lives.
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2. PEOPLE LIVING OUT THE SCRIPTURES​
The Bible is entirely truthful, real, authoritative, and reliable. We are committed to keeping the word of Christ central and learning what it says practically, theologically, historically, and personally. We are seriously aware of the dangers of hypocrisy and strive to be "doers of the word," and not just "hearers."
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3. PEOPLE WHO LIKE EACH OTHER​
King’s Church is a group of people who enjoy being together to accomplish varieties of good works. New attenders will find a community of authentic friendships and relationships that exist even outside our service.
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4. PEOPLE WHO HELP OTHERS​
Our church is filled with people who want to help other people. Like you, we want to help other people live healthy and bold lives for Jesus Christ. We engage in efforts to help the poor and the sick and those who are in trying times.
GOSPEL FOCUS
A Christian is any person who believes in the gospel of Jesus Christ, which proclaims that God came to save us by becoming a man, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus lived perfectly, took the punishment that humanity deserved for its sin by dying on the cross, and declared victory over death by rising from the grave, paving for Christians to live eternally in Him. We declare this truth relentlessly as the most important news that humans can hear, believe, and trust.
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