Rev. David V. Ford - Lead Pastor

Pastor David is a native of Florida. He came to know the Lord as a teenager and was baptized with the Holy Spirit one summer evening at a local church in his hometown of Clewiston, Florida - he began preaching the Good News of Jesus Christ at the age of 16.

Pastor David is the founding pastor of New Town United Methodist Church and as the Lead Pastor his leadership focus is primarily on equipping the saints for the work of ministry by the preaching and teaching of God's Word and the faithful administration of the sacraments.

Pastor David is a graduate of Palm Beach Atlantic University in West Palm Beach, Florida, earning his Master of Divinity degree in 1986 from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. He completed a two-year residency in Clinical Pastoral Education in 1989 at the University of Virginia Health Sciences Center, Charlottesville, Virginia and is an ordained elder in
full-connection in the Virginia Conference of the United Methodist Church.

Pastor David is married to Mary Lou. They are the parents of 3 grown children - Samuel, married to Claire, Carlee and Marianna and the proud grandparents of a grandson, Samuel Lee Ford, II

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Rev. Carol Bookwalter - Director of Care Ministries

 Carol brings to New Town a wealth of pastoral and clinical life experience. Prior to serving as a United Methodist pastor for 17 years in churches in Virginia, Carol was a navy wife, mother of 5 and served as a Registered Nurse for 20 years working in medical-surgical units, labor and delivery, psychiatric, and as a crisis counselor.

Along with her BS in nursing, Carol's education includes a Master of Arts in Counseling and a Master of Divinity.

Carol has a special interest in healing prayer, and as the Director of Pastoral Care is responsible for congregational care including overseeing the prayer and healing teams, the Stephen Ministry, Alpha, visitations and counseling.

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Ian Roberts‚ Director of Administration

Ian brings to New Town UMC a lifetime of business and management experience in the secular and religious fields, and holds a degree in Engineering from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (Australia).

Prior to transferring to full time ministry, Ian was extensively involved in business sales and management, predominantly in the computer and high technology industries. His commercial experience ranges from many years with the IBM Corporation to founding a computer hardware company in Sydney Australia and Boston Ma.

Ian’s experience in church and ministry-related positions includes leadership and participation in Evangelism Explosion, New England Concerts of Prayer, the Boston March for Jesus, Reclaiming Easter and Student Venture, the high school arm of Campus Crusade. Prior to joining New Town, Ian served a 5 year term as Director of Administration at Greensprings Chapel in Williamsburg.

He and his wife Bev have a long association with Youth With A Mission, having ministered in mainland China and in staff leadership positions with YWAM Australia.

Bev works in the Physical Therapy department at the Riverside-Walter Reid hospital in Gloucester, and has many testimonies to the power of God touching the lives of her patients and their families through prayer.

Bev and Ian have 3 grown children, and one granddaughter.

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Stephanie Turner - Director of Program Ministries

Stephanie brings to New Town a rich history of service in a variety of fields.

Stephanie graduated with a BS from Virginia Tech in Forestry/Wildlife and gained her Masters from Miami Univ. in mass communication with an environmental science emphasis.

Her career with Virginia State Parks spanned 22 years - 12 years in the field position of Chief Ranger and Park Manager and 10 years as a Resource Management Planner.

Ever the outdoors person, Stephanie loves hiking, biking and all outdoor activities. She is also gifted musically as an accomplished French horn and piano player and part time music teacher.

Prior to joining the staff in July 2007, Stephanie was active in youth, children's and women's ministries. She has a passion to help people learn more about God and develop a deeper relationship with the Lord by living it out in their daily lives.

As our Director of Program Ministries, Stephanie is responsible for the support and development of Small Groups, adult Bible studies and classes, the Children's and Youth ministry organizations and other church-wide ministries.

Stephanie has three children; Lauren, Meagan and Bradley - and several pets!

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Gretchen Tisone - Director of Children's and Preschool Ministries

Gretchen has worked in the field of education as an elementary teacher and trainer for over 21 years. All through her teaching career, Gretchen has led seminars and trained teachers throughout Virginia in classroom management, creative lesson planning and diversified learning techniques. She has written curriculum for elementary schools and served on the Standards of Learning Board for Norfolk Public Schools.

Gretchen joined New Town United Methodist Church nine years ago as the Director of Children's Ministry. Her legendary energy and creativity has resulted in a life giving and ever growing children's ministry, and the founding in 2007 of the NTUMC Preschool accomodating over 90 children for ages 2 through 4.

Grechen has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Early Childhood Education from the University of Cincinnati and has been married to her husband, Mark, for 23 years. They have 3 children; Summer, Allie and Tanner.

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Stacey Cooprider - Director of Worship Ministries

Stacey is a musician by training and a worshiper by passion. After graduating from the College of Mary Washington in 1997 with a bachelor's degree in music, Stacey taught private lessons until she and her husband, Jason decided to move back to Williamsburg.

Stacey felt God's call to do more, and since then has been using her musical training and passion for the Lord to lead others in worship. Stacey has been a worship leader for over a decade and has been on staff at New Town UMC since 2002.

As the Director of Worship Ministries, Stacey serves as the Worship Leader during Sunday morning services, directs the youth and adult praise bands and oversees other musical groups and special events within the life of the church.

Stacey and Jason have two children, Katelyn and Connor.

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Jonathan Diggs- Director of Youth Ministries

Jonathan graduated from both Virginia Tech and NC State with degrees in Environmental Engineering. After college he worked in Raleigh, North Carolina as a Stormwater Engineer for the North Carolina Division of Water Quality. In 2006, Jonathan answered a call for full-time ministry and enrolled in Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky. He graduated in May of 2009 and began as Youth Director at New Town UMC in August, 2009.

Jonathan has been involved in youth ministry since 2004, both as a volunteer and as a youth pastor. While in Wilmore, Kentucky attending Asbury Theological Seminary, he was the co-youth pastor for a non-denominational church for three years. He enjoys the energy and excitement of youth and their willingness to jump in and try anything is totally committed to prayer and the belief that youth can actively work for God's kingdom at any age.

As Director of Youth Ministries, Jonathan is responsible to develop all aspects of our ministry, grades 5 - 12. His primary goal is to help youth realize the love the Father has for them and to see them become lifelong disciples of Jesus Christ.

Jonathan loves the outdoors and in his free time, you'll find him hiking, playing disc golf, camping, boating or going on walks with his family dogs. He loves music, playing guitar and piano.

Jonathan is originally from Mathews County, Virginia and is married to Anna Marie, who is from Boone, North Carolina. They have two wonderful children, Isaac and Kayla.

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