Capitol Hill Baptist Church

Brad Wheeler, Associate Pastor

Brad Wheeler was raised in a Unitarian home, as many good New England children are. It was after moving to Santa Cruz, CA that he first heard and believed the gospel through his (now) wife Erin, and emerging church pastor/friend Dan Kimball. Never intending to become a pastor, he established a career in investment consulting after graduating from Princeton University. Yet “many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails.” (Prov 19.21) Thus, in 2001 he happily joined the staff of CHBC, followed by a MDiv and ThM at Southern Seminary where he served as an elder at Third Avenue Baptist Church. Brad returned to CHBC in 2010 to serve as an associate pastor and is responsible for church planting/revitalization, the pastoral internship program, public teaching and other pastoral duties. He and Erin have four children, Page, Maggie, William, and Eliza. Brad enjoys all things having to do with motorcycles, his family, travel, and dreaming of the water polo phenom he never was.

Andy Johnson, Associate Pastor

Andy was born and raised in a believing family in Texas. He worked both on church staff and managing a small, family cattle operation. After completing degrees at Texas A&M, Andy moved to Washington, DC in 1997. Andy earned a living as an agricultural advisor for the US Congress while serving CHBC as an elder. In January of 2006, Andy joined CHBC as an Associate Pastor. Andy also gives special attention to the discipling and international missions efforts of CHBC. Andy loves reading, gardening and, most of all, spending time with his wonderful wife, Rebecca, and their children, Andrew, Evelyn, and Samuel.

Deepak Reju, Associate Pastor

Raised in New Jersey, Deepak Reju serves as an associate pastor at Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, DC. His pastoral responsibilities include oversight of the biblical counseling and family ministries at CHBC. He previously served on staff at Grace Church in Westfield, N.J. and Clifton Baptist Church in Louisville, KY. A George Washington University graduate, he also holds the MDiv and PhD degrees from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Deepak and his wife, Sarah, have four children, Zachariah, Lydia, Eden, and Noelle.

Jamie Dunlop, Associate Pastor

Born and raised in the Chicago area, Jamie joined CHBC in 1999 when he first moved to Washington, DC following undergraduate work in engineering and applied math at Princeton University. He worked in business for ten years, most recently managing a line of business for a large management consultancy while serving the church as an elder. In 2009 , Jamie joined the staff as an Associate Pastor, focusing on administrative matters. He is passionate about the gospel, the local church, his wife Joan, and their three children.

Zach Schlegel, Assistant Pastor

Zach grew up in Nebraska with a family where he heard the gospel and saw it lived out among other family members seeking to follow Jesus. After attending the University of Nebraska to study Mechanical Engineering, he moved to Chicago to go to Moody Theological Seminary. There, he met and married his wife Katie and had their first son, Hudson. After serving as a pastor in Chicago for four years, the Schlegel’s moved to DC to join the work at CHBC where Zach currently serves as an Assistant Pastor.

Matthew Merker, Pastoral Assistant

Matt grew up in Long Island, NY, where he developed a discerning palate for “true” pizza and bagels. After completing a degree in religious studies and music at Vanderbilt University in 2006, Matt returned to “the Island” to serve on the staff of Shelter Rock Church. He moved to DC to participate in the CHBC Pastoral Internship in 2009. Following the internship, Matt worked as a music teacher until coming on staff at CHBC as a Pastoral Assistant in the summer of 2010. He enjoys reading, college ministry, making music, and especially spending time with Erica, his sort-of-high-school-sweetheart and now wife.

Jaime Owens, Pastoral Assistant

Jaime grew up in a Roman Catholic family in Southeastern Massachusetts. He thought he was a good little boy, having attained his Eagle Scout and playing every sport known to man in the community. In 2005, while studying at Bridgewater State University, he was invited to a church and was radically converted several months later through a sermon on Luke 15. After graduation Jaime served as a police officer in his hometown of Swansea. After three years of service, Jaime resigned from the department, though he loved working the beat, and moved to Louisville, Kentucky to attend the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. In January of 2011, Jaime came to CHBC as a pastoral intern, and is now a Pastoral Assistant at the church. He wishes, if the Lord wills, to pastor a church in New England, preferably MA or RI. Jaime likes coffee, calisthenics, classic literature, cowboy boots, and traveling the world.

Nick Roark, Pastoral Assistant

Nick was born in Falls Church, VA, but grew up in Chattanooga, TN, and attended the University of Tennessee. After college, Nick relocated to Raleigh, North Carolina where he worked for IBM Global Services for six years. During this time, he began attending and serving at Providence Baptist Church, where he would eventually join the staff in 2006 and serve as the Pastor of College and Equipping. Nick holds a MDiv degree from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. He moved to DC to participate in the CHBC Pastoral Internship in 2012. Following the internship, Nick joined CHBC’s staff as a Pastoral Assistant in the summer of 2012. He is joyfully married to Allison and they have three children, Elijah, Hudson, and Emmaline.

Gio Lynch, Children’s Ministry Administrator

Gio is a Brooklyn NY native who first came to CHBC back in 2000 as a student and became a member in 2004 when work brought her back to DC. Since then she has come and gone several times but is now very happy to be able to serve the church that has served her so well over the years. In her spare time, Gio enjoys hiking, camping and 18th century English country dancing.

Lindsey Parker, Office Manager

Lindsey was raised in the mountains of Asheville, North Carolina through her high school years. After high school, she attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and began what would be some of her most formative years as a Christian. It was during this time that God led her to Providence Baptist Church, where she began to grow in love for God and His word, and thus grew in her understanding of the vital role of the local church in the life of the believer and in God’s mission to make disciples of all nations. She spent her first year out of college in Central Asia, then returned to Raleigh, where she worked alongside the Pastor of Missions for four years. She began attending CHBC in the spring of 2010, during what was intended as a weekend visit. A weekend visit turned into a month, which lead to a decision to move here permanently.

Chris Herndon, Facilities Manager

Chris joined CHBC in 2001 and became facilities manager in 2012. Born in Washinton DC, he was an electrician for 14 years before joining the church staff. He lives on Capitol Hill with his wife Martha. His five children are Jasmine, Grace, Donald, Elijah, and Shane. He is a graduate of Pillsbury Baptist Bible College and Dallas Theological Seminary (ThM).

Rob Smythe, Receptionist

Rob was born and raised in the great state of Illinois in a Christian home and came to a saving faith in Jesus in his teenage years. He attended Boyce College in Louisville, Kentucky and then spent over a year in South Asia in 2008 and 2009 serving a church alongside a pastor and friend. While there, he discovered how much he didn’t know about ministry, and so he interned for two years at a church in London followed shortly thereafter by the CHBC internship. A week after the internship ended, Rob and his lovely wife Katye married in June 2012 and began planting roots together in DC. Rob loves time with Katye, with books, and with people. He began serving as the Receptionist at CHBC in January 2013.