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.
John Fontanella, Youth Pastor
John was born in Baltimore, Maryland and has lived in Annapolis for the majority of his life. After attending Broadneck and Annapolis Senior High School he moved on to Salisbury State University where he received a B.A. in Political Science. Then after college he moved to Austin, Texas where he worked at a certain “non-pc” computer company. Finally, God sent him to Boston, Massachusetts where he worked on his Masters of Divinity degree at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. In his spare time, John likes to cheer for the future four time Super Bowl Champion Washington Redskins.
In September of 2007, John married his wife, Shelley whom he met at Gordon-Conwell while she was completing her Masters of Counseling. Shelley currently counsels in the area and John came to serve at Gateway in November 2007. John's goal is to work with the church team to create a fun, caring atmosphere where the youth can connect, feel accepted, and develop a relationship with Christ.
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, home fellowships, teams, or anything else, Terri is the person to call. If she does not know the answer, she will direct you to someone who does.
Apart from Gateway, Terri is a wife and mom. She is a native Texan and graduated with a Bachelor's degree in music from Southern Methodist University in Dallas. Terri is married to Tim Eagle, and they have two children, Krysta and James.
Diane Allen, Children's Ministry Assistant
Diane serves in our children's program - Kidztown - and assists Heather in keeping everything running day-to-day. She coordinates many of the Kidztown events, organizes the team rotation for teachers and set-up, and does a lot of other behind-the-scenes work to ensure that our Kidztown program has a real impact on our kids lives.
Diane grew up in North Carolina and is married to our pastor, Ed. They have three boys: Jordon, Dawson, and Graham.