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Oakland's Full-time Staff

Cliff Hedges: Senior Pastor

Cliff joined Oakland as the Associate Pastor in February 1999. This was his first church staff position. He retired from the Navy in 1994, from Naval Space Command. He is a graduate of Florida Atlantic University with a Bachelor of Science in Physics and earned a Master of Science in Telecommunications Management at the Naval Postgraduate School . He completed his Master of Divinity degree through the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, in 2002. Cliff became Senior Pastor in spring 2004. Cliff’s wife, Beth, is a teacher at Potomac Elementary School . They have two adult children, Ross and Joellen.
 

Ryan Carter: Pastor of Worship and Youth
Ryan came on as Oakland’s Pastor of Worship and Youth in January 2009. His vision for worship is to build a foundation from which to lead the congregation in heart felt worship before God and ultimately utilize the gift of music to reach souls for Christ. His vision for youth is to help teens establish proper relationships with Christ and help them learn how to incorporate their relationship with Christ into their day-to-day walk, life, relationships and decisions.

Ryan and Kendra have two daughters, Abigail and Hayley.

A little more on Ryan: From early in his life, Ryan Carter believed that he was being called into full time ministry and also assumed that he would be a pastor. He started to focus his life toward meeting that calling. While at college, a music professor challenged Ryan to consider that maybe God was calling him into music ministry versus the pulpit. Over the next few months, Ryan considered this and determined that he was indeed called into the worship and music ministry.

While serving as the Minister of Worship at another church in VA, the existing Youth Pastor left and Ryan was asked to lead the youth program, Soon after agreeing to help, Ryan and his wife Kendra discovered that they really liked working with youth as well.

Jim Thurman : Facilities Manager

Jim came on Staff in August 2004 as our full-time Building Maintenance and Custodian. Jim has talent and experience in many types of mechanics and construction making him a much needed asset to the Oakland staff. He also chairs our Properties Committee and he is currently coordinating the construction work for the Annex building. Jim and his wife, Karen, attend Oakland and are both actively involved in ministry. Karen is a gifted musician and also loves working in our Awana program. 


 

Lori Finch: Ministry Assistant/Office Manager

Lori has been a member of Oakland and actively involved in ministry since 1994. She has been involved with the Evangelism Team for the past few years and has coordinated many of our Community Bridge Events. She is also the Awana Club Secretary and enjoys serving with the various ministries of Oakland. Lori came on staff as Ministry Assistant in 2002. She is married to Steve, a paramedic and a member of the Praise Team. 

Steve and Lori have one son, Andrew. 

 


Oakland also has a few vital part-time staff, each bringing their own unique gifts and talents to help complete a dedicated team of fellow Kingdom-minded workers. 

We are all so honored to serve our Lord Jesus Christ, here at Oakland and look forward to the fulfilling His calling for us daily.