Katrina is the daughter of a marine fighter pilot and spent her younger years on military bases. She attended Penn State with the intent to go into the medical field, but throughout college her desires gradually shifted. With the influence of 9/11, and her dad, then an American Airlines pilot, she applied for the Federal Air Marshal Academy and began a thirteen-year career with the Federal Air Marshal Service. When Jackson was born, Katrina received a new assignment as “mom” and began her work at “The Headquarters” (aka, the Allenspach’s home). Katrina could spend hours looking through kids book lists, loves sweating alongside the Sunrise Squad (her women’s workout crew), and is trying her hand as Jackson’s kindergarten teacher. Katrina loves hot coffee in a mug, Christmastime, and order.

Jackson lives in a world of physical objects and is very good with his hands. He loves flying balls, dirt piles, and Magnatile towers. He is getting into woodworking and dreams of building stuff in his future. Katelyn is colorful in every sense of the word. She has a sunny personality, loves animals, and is famous among her extended family for her aggressive affection. She is regularly found raiding the art cart and shamelessly telling anyone and everyone that her favorite color is “purrrr-pul.” Luke wears a huge, open-mouthed smile on his face, even while knocking down his siblings’ creations. He lives to wrestle, loves tickles, and is too charming for his own good.

Katrina’s Testimony

Katrina’s dad discovered the teaching ministry of John MacArthur on naval ships. When he retired after his twenty years of service, he moved their family from church-to-church trying to find that kind of teaching. Katrina doesn’t have a memory of not trusting in Jesus, but moved forward with a public declaration of her faith through baptism at Carlisle Brethren in Christ Church when she was in eighth grade. She has experienced seasons of up and down while following Jesus as a young adult, and continues to find the grace of the cross both necessary and sufficient to cover her sins. She’s extremely grateful for the pastoral ministry of Ed Moore at North Shore Baptist Church in Queens, NY. Ed and Anna welcomed Katrina into their home, invested in her in a way that served as a backstop to some backsliding, and also helped her find another church to help her grow spiritually when she moved to DC.

Drew’s Testimony

Drew grew up in a Southern Baptist Church where he “accepted Jesus into his heart” after a Christmas Eve sermon as an 8-year-old in Sugar Land, Texas. He believes this was true conversion, though immaturity and weakness brought mixed experiences. His childhood shows some supernatural protection beyond his own natural restraint and moral courage. At the same time, he lived a double life, publishing his strengths and hiding his sins. Most of the preaching he heard growing up was moralism mixed with a tip of the cap to Jesus. As a result, he considered himself a Christian but had no idea what to do with his sins. It frightened him to confess his sins to God, since disclosing his wrongs before the judge felt like a guaranteed way to secure a guilty verdict and condemnation. So it was both exposure and relief when a pastor challenged his ignorance to the Bible’s promises and taught him from Scripture that Jesus was not just a moral example, he was a penal substitute who bore sins and exhausted God’s wrath. Life has not been the same since. Drew began confessing his sins to God and another brother, Matt. He began seeing victory over sin and growth in personal holiness. He also started reading the Bible with a hungry heart.

Call to Ministry

Right out of college, Drew worked on Wall Street as an investment banker with every ambition to follow his career trajectory as high as it could go. But a Christian brother challenged him to give his Saturday mornings to rest and his Sunday mornings to church. It sounded like bad career advice. However, he followed this encouragement. At church he heard preaching that thrilled his heart. Hearing God’s Word opened and explained eclipsed his ambition for business and motivated him to leave finance to work for his church in Manhattan. His desire for ministry only grew as he studied the Bible and served on staff at the church. He left NYC when his mentors encouraged him toward seminary. He began to study at Southern Seminary due to its strong faculty, proximity to a recommended church, and central location to evangelize college golf teams in the Midwest. 

While in seminary, on the recommendation of a trusted friend and financial supporter, Drew visited a pastors conference called a 9Marks Weekender in D.C. There he saw a group of elders getting spiritual updates from people, praying for them, and working together to encourage them in the Scriptures. He saw what he would like to do with his life. He also met Katrina there. So upon graduation from seminary, Drew moved to D.C. to marry Katrina and learn from the pastors at Capitol Hill Baptist Church. CHBC helped confirm his qualification to serve as a pastor in the church, so now he pursues his aspiration to serve as a herald of the gospel and shepherd of God’s sheep vocationally.

SERMON SAMPLES

Emma Thompson’s Funeral Service
Westmont Presbyterian Church, Johnstown, PA

August 10, 2022

“Who Will Inherit the Land of Rest? ” (Numbers 26)
Catonsville Baptist Church, Catonsville, MD

June 5, 2022