Meet Our Staff
Ed Allen, Senior Pastor
So why would anyone want to pastor a brand new church? “It’s really very exciting,” according to Ed. “I believe the church should be more than a building, or a set of rules or a long list of traditions. The church is a gathered group of people who want to love God and love one another. Besides this is a wonderful area and we have a talented and fun core group. Who wouldn't want to do this?”
Ed was born in South Carolina. He went to college at Wake Forest University and studied for the ministry at Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary in Massachusetts, where he received his Master of Divinity and his Doctorate of Ministry degrees. Before moving to Northern Virginia in late 1996, Ed and his wife, Diane, lived in the Boston, MA area for 12 years where Ed pastored an urban church. The Allens have 3 boys: Jordan, Dawson, and Graham.
Alex York, Youth Pastor ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it )
Beth Baron, Small Groups Pastor
Beth has an intense desire to help people experience authentic biblical community like Christ modeled in his disciples. Beth has over 15 years of experience in developing and equipping healthy dynamic small group ministries and she has presented her vision for small groups at conferences around the country. She is encouraged when people experiencing group life go through conflict, speak the truth in love to one another and then reproduce leaders to form new groups.
Beth is a native to this area and was born in Fairfax, VA. She has an undergraduate and master's degree in speech therapy which she used for 10 years until God called her to work with small groups. She is currently working on at master’s degree in Christian Counseling and Discipleship at Capital Bible Seminary. She and her husband Mike live in Stone Ridge with their daughter Victoria.
Terri Eagle, Pastor's Assistant
Terri is Pastor Ed's right-hand woman. Terri assists Ed in his day-to-day work and keeps Ed organized, a task that many of us at Gateway don't envy. She also coordinates and organizes various Gateway functions. If you have questions about the church, small groups, teams or anything else, Terri is the person to contact. If she does not know the answer, she will direct you to someone who does.
Terri is a native Texan and graduated with a Bachelor's degree in music from Southern Methodist University in Dallas. She is married to Tim Eagle, and they have two adult children and a new daughter-in-law: Krysta, James and Emily.
Diane Allen, Interim Children's Director
Diane serves as our interim Children's Director and oversees KidzTown's children, Babies-5th grade. She leads our Elementary kids on Sunday mornings and helps coordinate our many KidzTown activities and events. Aided by an amazing, creative and caring Children's Team, KidzTown is able to have a lasting impact on the lives of kids!
Diane grew up in North Carolina, graduated with a B.S. degree from the University of North Carolina and is married to our pastor, Ed. They have three boys: Jordan, Dawson, and Graham.