Tabernacle Staff
Essen is the founding pastor of Tabernacle.
He was born and raised in Tidewater. After graduating from James Madison University, Essen married Cathy, his high school prom date. He earned his M.Div. and D.Min. from Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando.
Essen and Cathy have four kids: Rachel, Sarah, Michael, and Lydia. Rachel and her husband, Kyle, live in New Mexico. Sarah is in Nashville, Michael is in Charlottesville, and Lydia is at JMU (Go Dukes!).
He enjoys creating artwork, birthday cakes, and good dinners. He also has an embarrassing affinity for Star Wars Legos (Matthew 7:1-2).
Kyle serves as Associate Pastor.
He is a graduate of James Madison University and Reformed Theological Seminary. Kyle is married to his best friend, Ginny, and together they are continuously learning how to be parents for their boys, Drew and Sam.
Kyle is responsible for facilitating and encouraging the ministry teams at Tab with special focus on small groups and adult discipleship.
He enjoys the outdoors, reading, and watching the Cowboys defeat the Redskins on a fairly regular basis.
For 4 years, Taylor served as Worship Director. As he completes his M.Div. from Reformed Theological Seminary, God has called him to an exciting new opportunity in his hometown of Lubbock, Texas.
Taylor will be the RUF Minister at Texas Tech. Check out the following links to learn more and support his ministry:
Sign up for Taylor's RUF Newsletters and Updates
We will miss the beautiful way that he enjoyed leading the saints in the worship of God, but Taylor has gifted us with a wonderful playlist of songs he has written during his time at Tab.
Teresa is the administrative assistant for Tabernacle's church office.
Born and raised in Ohio, Teresa came to the Valley in 1992 from Philadelphia, where she taught middle and high school English.
Before coming to Tabernacle, she taught English locally, worked with special needs kids, was a bookkeeper for a family business, and served several years as Children's Ministries Support.
She enjoys her two grown sons, reading, studying, working with her hands, traveling, and Ohio State Football.
Wendy was transplanted to Virginia about 10 years ago after being born and raised in New Hampshire.
She and her husband Abe have seven children. She has a degree in elementary education and her love for children makes her a great fit as our nursery coordinator.
Wendy loves learning new things, and her most recent adventures include gardening and chocolatiering.
Jennifer was born and raised in the Shenandoah Valley before living in coastal Maine for 17 years. She graduated from the University of Maine with a B.A. in Social Sciences.
After moving back to Virginia in 2011, she met her husband, Brian. They are now raising a smart and highly active son, John Braydon, in Staunton.
Jennifer enjoys hiking, nature, gardening, and has a passion for ancient history and civilizations.
Elders
Don Bailey
Dave Chase
Mike Misantone
Brian Mongold
Adam Pearson
John Pearson (emeritus)
David Sawyer
Contact the elders at session@tab-pres.org
DeaCons
Jack Craig (emeritus)
Steven Derrick
Bill Elliott
Nick Grow
Chris Jones
Raymond Kilmer
Jason McClain
David Rhodus
David Richardson
Contact the deacons at deacons@tab-pres.org
Service Times: 8:30AM | 11:00AM
Discipleship Classes: 10:00AM
1301 Red Top Orchard Road | 540.932.1778