Ben is currently in his fourth year of ministry as a pastor at Commonwealth Baptist. Before being installed as the head Pastor in September of 2008, Ben was the Associate Pastor working primarily with youth and children. Ben has a Bachelors in religion and philosophy from Campbell University, a Masters of Divinity from Duke University, and is currently in the final phases of a Doctorate in Ethics from the Catholic University of America. In addition to his role as pastor Ben is also an adjunct professor of Christian Ethics and Political Theology at John Leland Seminary in Falls Church, VA, and a board member of the Northern Virginia AIDS Ministry.

Ben and his wife Toni live in the Lynnhaven area of Alexandria with Toni’s 13 year old sister Katelyn, their two Daschunds, and their brand new adopted baby girl Lucy Joy. For recreation Ben enjoys basketball, surfing, and indie rock music.

Kerry has been the office administrator at Commonwealth Baptist Church since May of 2007. Her responsibilities include managing incoming calls to the office, keeping track of financial records and documentation, sorting the mail and paying the church bills, processing contributions and donations to the church, generating the weekly bulletin and information for the Sunday service, managing payroll and human resource duties for the church employees and the Abracadabra staff, and other administrative tasks as they arise. In other words, she really runs the show around here.

Her main goal is to keep the church operations running smoothly during the week, and to administratively support the pastoral staff.

Kerry can be reached at 703.548.8000 or kerry@commonwealthbaptistchurch.org

Kris is excited to join the Commonwealth Baptist staff and is looking forward to ministering to and growing with the congregation. Before moving to Alexandria, Kris was called into ministry just prior to assisting with the launch of a new church called Real Life Chapel on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, where she served as an associate. Kris has experience leading teens and children, using creative, out-of-the-box (sometimes crazy) techniques to communicate and teach the Gospel, and planning unforgettable retreats. She also has a background in the science field, including a Bachelors in biology from UNC-Chapel Hill and a Masters in environmental science from the University of Maryland. Kris continues to follow God’s lead and is in the process of pursuing her Master of Divinity from Wesley Theological Seminary.

Kris lives in the Del Ray community and is determined to conquer traffic on all the major roads with “95” in them. She is an avid competitive inline skater (clocking 13-15mph on 10 wheels), writer, cartoonist, and fan of the TarHeels and Terps. Kris also enjoys flavored coffee and loves meeting and hanging out with people of all ages and different backgrounds.

Chang holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the Peabody Conservatory of Music in Baltimore, where he majored in bassoon performance and minored in piano performance. He has also studied at the Oberlin Conservatory in Oberlin, Ohio. He has served as church accompanist for the Unitarian Universalists of San Mateo, the Estonian Lutheran Congregation of Northern California, Sei Ko Kai Christ (Episcopal) Church, and is the son of a Southern Baptist minister. Chang currently lives in Baltimore where he is continuing his musical studies, offers private piano lessons, and teaches piano in Worthington Elementary School’s after-school program. In addition to his other talents, Chang brings an affable personality and a wonderfully ecumenical (and eclectic) spirit to our church. He is fluent in Cantonese and Mandarin Chinese and is teaching himself to play the Theremin, an early electronic instrument first developed in 1919 that is designed to be played without being touched.