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Lead Pastor Rob Shepherd:

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Bio:

Rob has been in ministry since he was 18 years old. After fifteen years of youth ministry Rob felt called to plant a church.

Rob is not what you would call a risk taker. He would eat Chipotle twice a day and never get sick of it. He likes a predictable schedule. He wears plaid on an almost daily basis. Yet, in the summer of 2011 Rob felt like God was challenging him to step out of his comfort zone and plant a church. After a year of wrestling with this call Rob finally took the plunge and started Next Level Church.

At the time he had no financial backing.  His only debt was his house and with the support of his amazing wife he sold their home and moved in with his parents. At the first interest meeting for Next Level Rob said, “I have nothing to offer you, but Jesus. I have no building, and no staff. All I have is Jesus.” The scariest part about starting a church was that he didn’t know who was going to lead admin, Tots and Kids, and worship. Rob literally had nothing but Jesus to offer.

At the end of that interest meeting God brought Nancy to Rob…

Administrator of all things Awesome Nancy Wall

Stats:

  • Married to Tim
  • Mother to Jeremy, John, and Trisha
  • Needtobreathe fanatic
  • Enjoys being awesome, hanging out with her grandson, and stalking the band Needtobreathe
  • Email – admin@nextlevelchurch.net. 

Before joining the staff at Next Level Nancy raised three kids to be almost as awesome as she is and helped her husband Tim look good.

After the first interest meeting for Next Level, Nancy approached Rob and said, “my husband is in the military and works in DC. I have a lot of time during the week and I have administration experience.” Rob thought to himself, “praise God from whom all blessings flow!” This was a huge answer to prayer.

Nancy jumped in right away and started overseeing all things admin. She is amazing! When you meet her you should give her money, Chick-fil-A diet lemonade, and or tickets to see Needtobreathe in concert.

Director of Tots and Kids Amber Amezcua

Stats:

  • Married to Ed
  • New York Native
  • Concert fanatic
  • Enjoys helping others, spending time with her husband, and defeating people in Song Pop
  • Email – amber@nextlevelchurch.net

Before joining the Next Level staff Amber was an elementary school administrator.

After the first interest meeting at Next Level Rob received a phone call from Amber’s husband, Ed. He wanted to go to lunch and ask some questions about this new church. Rob loves eating lunch so he willingly accepted the invitation. At the lunch Ed introduced Rob to Amber. Now this lunch was an answer to prayer. For one, Ed told Rob that he knew how to run sound. Before Rob met him Next Level didn’t have anyone who even knew how to turn on a soundboard. For two, Amber tells Rob that she is a former elementary school administrator who is now a stay at home wife looking for things to do. Rob thought “praise God from whom all blessings flow!”

Today Amber oversees both our Tots and Kids ministries which includes investing in volunteers and writing our own curriculum. Amber is a blessing from God. If you see her give her gold bars, a high five, or a large fountain Coke Zero.

Worship Pastor Stephen Haggerty

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Before joining the Next Level staff Stephen was a worship leader in Mechanicsville, VA.

Stephen has known Rob for years. They met when Stephen was in middle school. They were reunited through the blogging world. One week Stephen sent Rob an email about some questions on blogging. They set up a lunch meeting and little did they know what would happen next. The day before the lunch meeting Rob made the decision to obey Jesus and plant a church. The next day they met and ended up talking about church planting more than blogging. After that lunch Rob went to his car and knew that Stephen would be the first worship leader at Next Level.

The following week Rob called Stephen and asked him to lead worship at Next Level’s first interest meeting. It was supposed to be in a house for 15 to 20 people. It ended up being at a local church with 90 + people.

Over the next five months Stephen led worship at Next Level every other week…for free. After a few months God made it clear that he was leading Stephen and Brooke to join the staff at Next Level. Stephen started working full time in August of 2012.

Today Stephen is the full time Worship Pastor at Next Level. He oversees our worship service and all things media/web. Stephen is wicked talented and a Godsend. If you see him give him comments on his blog, anything meat related, or pet his beard.

Kid’s Mascot Justin Beaver 

Stats:

  • Dating Selena Gopher
  • Aspires to one day win the Capital One Mascot Challenge
  • Enjoys dancing, building awesome structures, and leading Next Level Kids to their environment

Before joining Next Level Staff Justin was the backup mascot to the Norfolk Tides, Rip Tide. No one can confirm this fact but Justin promises that it’s true.

You can meet Justin Beaver on Sundays at Next Level Church. He normally hangs out at Tots’ and Kids’ check-in and he always leads our kids to their environment after worship in the auditorium.