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Leadership
DR. STEVE DAVIS
Dr. Steve Davis is our Founding Pastor. He brings the deep truths of Godto us in a down to earth and practical manner. He has a rich tapestry of ministry experience nationally and internationally. He and his wife Linda have ministered throughout the United States and in Europe.
Dr. Steve also serves as a law enforcement chaplain to local and federal law enforcement agencies. He has been an FBI chaplain for several years, assigned to FBI Headquarters in Washington, DC and to the FBI Academy in Quantico, VA. He is an inaugural member of the FBI's Behavioral Science Unit's Spirit of the Law working group, studying the relationship of spiritual health to working functionality in law enforcement. We count it a privilege to have been able to have him serve day and night during the 9-11 attacks, serving FBI and other rescue personnel. Click here for the FULL Bio on Dr. Steve Davis
Reverend Andrew L. Hooker Jr., serves as Director of Growth & Development and is President of "Men On A Mission" for The Worship Center. Rev. Hooker is a native of Chicago, Illinois. Accepting the call to ministry in 1976, he has served in several leadership capacities to include pastor; associate pastor, and superintendent of Sunday School programs. During this 30 year span; he’s ministered to thousands of military and civilian persons in the states and locations around the world to include Italy, Belgium, Japan, Germany and England.
After graduation from Proviso East High School, Maywood Illinois, he began a career in the United States Air Force which spanned 25 years. During this time he graduated from the International Seminary, Florida and presently pursues a Bachelor Of Science Degree in Management from National - Louis University. He serves as the Aerospace Science instructor for the Air Force Junior ROTC program at Charles H. Flowers High School, Springdale, MD.
Rev. Hooker is married to the former Linda Wheeler of Chicago. They have one son, Andrew III.
K. I. & LIZZETTE SMITH
K. I. and Lizzette are a multi-talented, happy, and "on fire" couple. They bring a vibrancy and a zeal to everything they do for the Lord. K.I. and Lizzette work together as a team to teach the Teens Bible class. They also head up our music ministry and Choir. K.I. is a proficient musical arranger and keyboardist, and Lizzette knows how to really pull the sounds out of our choir members!Having been trained professionally as a ballet dancer, Lizzette takes seriously Psalm 150 which says to praise the Lord with dance. She frequently uses her dance ministry to offer worship to the Lord, and loves to help others learn how to praise the Lord in the dance.
Linda Davis is the Director of Administration as well as The Worship Center's First Lady. She is a driving force in the church offices & administration and has been an integral part of The Worship Center family since the beginning. After serving on the mission field in England for 4 years with Operation Mobilization, she and Pastor Steve returned to the States and birthed what was to be the beginning of the church out of a small Bible study.
Linda has also served as the Client Director and as a counselor at the Catherine Foundation Crisis Pregnancy Care Center for 5 years. She was also Producer and a host of the Leave it to Jesus television program aired on The Dream network from 1999 - 2002. From time to time, she also served as camera operator! During this time, she has also taught Missionette classes, has been incredibly active in "Women with a Mission," and has regularly volunteered her time for church and community projects and outreach. Her dedication to Christ and His purposes for her life are embodied in her continued work for the church.
Sterling and Ulrike (Ulli), met in Germany 1988, where Ulli grew up and Sterling was Stationed. They got married there in Germany on June 29th of the next year. They then moved to the United States on August 21st. Ulrike made the life changing decision to get saved on April 11, 1990, the same time Sterling re-dedicated his life.
They have been involved in Children's Ministries since 1990, including being Coordinators for Kids for Christ (Children's Church). They completed the ACTS (All Church Training Series) Teacher Training Course with Certification and attended several Teacher and Puppet Training Workshops and Conferences.
With the help of another couple, Sterling & Ulli started "Hallelujah Night", (an alternative to Halloween), at their former church in 1992, which is still going strong with at least 800 children and adults attending this performance yearly. They've also been involved with helping in coordinating, teaching and doing characters at a one month long summer camp for Homeless/HIV/Aids children. They've ministered in and out of character at other church functions, non-church functions and Nursing Homes. The two of them also sang in Choirs, doing Special Music, Praise Teams and Dramas.
Sterling & Ulli met Pastor Steve in 1993 and began attending The Worship Center in March, 2001. Here at The Worship Center, they brought out their old skills to use again. Doing the special music programs, singing on the Praise Team, doing Characters and teaching Sunday School along with being involved with various other ministries. They say that since being involved with all of the many church activities over the years, God has given them the gift of writing most of the drama and puppets scripts they have performed.
Since 2002, Sterling & Ulli have also coordinated yearly Vacation Bible School/Summer Camp and Christmas Programs. In 2004 they became Directors of Christian Education and are also currently coordinating children's Church.
Jessie is the President of "Women with a Mission". Click here for more details on Women with a Mission!
Jessie has been saved for 30 years now and been a dedicated member of The Worship Center for over 15 years! She has done a lot of ministry work all around the world, such as England and Iceland.
Jessie holds an AAS degree in Human Services and an AS degree in Social Sciences. She is the secretary for the Charles County Commission for Women, and, in the fall, will be appointed for her second 4-year term.
Melissa is the Director of Outreach & Evangelism at The Worship Center. She has been saved for 17 years and has a fire burning within her that spreads to everyone she comes in contact with. She seeks to encourage others to use their individual gifts to fulfill Christ's Commission to "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature" (Mark 16:15), and to reach the people God has entrusted them to reach.
Melissa holds a BA in Psychology with a focus on working with victims of sexual abuse and has a minor in Human Rights Pre-Law. While in college, she was heavily involved in Messiah's International Justice Mission chapter, presiding over it for 3 years, while also leading an Invisible Children chapter, leading and coordinating service trips for the college, as well as volunteering regularly with Bethesda Mission's soup kitchen and with Fellowship House reaching out to children, the homeless and the hungry in Cambden, NJ. When at home, she loved helping with Urban Outreach, and still does today.
In 2005 right after the tsunami hit, Melissa went to Thailand to do work with one of International Justice Mission's aftercare agencies for victims of human rights abuse, The New Life Center. In addition to the time she spent with the girls there, she also did translation work for one of their radio show
broadcasts which worked to raise awareness of forced prostitution and attended Chiang Mai University through the Spring Semester in Thailand Program.
She also got the opportunity to attend and present at a special conference series on human trafficking with Thai, Swiss and Burmese officials for World Concern, International Justice Mission, New Life Aftercare Agencies, Heifer International and other human rights organizations.
This opened doors for her to do translation work for Heifer International, as well as the voice over for their promotional video of the work they have done and are doing in the Yunnan Province of China.
Melissa also lived in a Karen Hill tribe village in the Musakee Jungle for a month doing ethnographic research on the Karen people, comparing their creation account and eschatology to that of Christianity. It was a wonderful time.
In 2006, after Hurricane Katrina hit, Messiah College sent a Reconnaissance Team of 3 three students and 4 teachers to New Orleans to help with disaster relief and lay out plans for future service teams to come in. Melissa was among them. Click here to read the article.
It was also this year that she formed JESUSpolitik, Inc, a human rights networking group that helps connect the people that want to help with the people that need it the most.
After graduating college in 2006, she felt called to work with The Worship Center doing outreach and evangelism fulltime. She's a real hard worker and we are seeing the fruit! Souls are getting saved! Check out our Outreach & Evangelism page to see how you can get involved! WE WANT YOU!
Melissa not only directs our Outreach & Evangelism Ministry, but she also leads our Youth Group, is an active part of our 20-Somethings Bible Study and teaches a Girls Club class!
REV. NATHAN SHAPLEY
Nate directs the Ministry of Media Outreach & Development here at The Worship Center. His ministry is bringing the Word through media. Brought up in the ministry, he has always felt a strong call on his life. He became a lay-minister with the Southern Methodist Church at the age of 18 and a Reverend at the age of 22. He holds his Bachelor's Degree in Bible. His greatest desire is to see souls saved and media is one of the many witnessing tools God has gifted him with.
Rev. Nate also helps do all sorts of odd jobs around the church and is willing to serve the Lord any way that he can! He is an active member of our 20-Somethings Bible Study, helps with our Sound & Engineering Dept. and preaches on occasion as well! Whether it's editing a video, painting a wall or preaching a sermon, whatever Nate does, he does it with all his heart!
Stay tuned! Our television outreach, Leave it to Jesus will be returning to the air!
