Facilitator Biographies
David Bailey, Founder and Chief Vision Officer – Arrabon
David M. Bailey is a public theologian, culture maker, and catalyst focused on building reconciling communities. David is the founder and Chief Vision Officer of Arrabon, a spiritual formation ministry that equips the American Church to actively and creatively pursue racial healing in their communities. He is the co-author of the study series, A People, A Place, and A Just Society, and the executive producer of the documentary 11 am: Hope for America’s Most Segregated Hour and the Urban Doxology Project. David is rooted at East End Covenant Fellowship, serving on the preaching team, and his greatest honor is to be married to his wonderful wife, Joy.
Barry Bland, Deputy – Hanover County Sherriff’s Office
Deputy Barry Bland is a 37-year veteran of law enforcement. He worked for 4 years at the Richmond Bureau of Police before joining the Hanover Sheriff’s Office in 1989. During his tenure, Deputy Bland has served in the Patrol Division, Investigative Division as a School Resource Officer, and in the Administrative Division as a Certified Crime Prevention Specialist. He is also the Lead Mentor for the law enforcement
Cadet program for youth 14-21 years old who have an interest in the law enforcement career.
Deputy Bland is a lifelong resident of Hanover County.
Dr. Allison Collier, Associate Pastor of Christian Formation – First Baptist Church Richmond
Dr. Allison Collier serves as Associate Pastor of Christian Formation. She believes we are called to continually grow as disciples and live out our faith, reaching out to share our gifts and knowledge with the world around us in practical and relational ways. At First Baptist, you will notice Allison finding creative ways to integrate faith and community involvement, encouraging the entire family to grow and serve together. Allison loves the way every member has a voice and finds joy in helping members connect their gifts with God’s calling for their life.
Allison is the wife of Jared and mother of two sons, Josiah and Liam. She is a native of North Carolina and holds 3 degrees from Campbell University including her Bachelor, Master, and Doctor of Divinity, making her a rare “3 hump camel!” Prior to joining First Baptist, Allison was ordained and served 16 years in a rural NC church and enjoyed various positions on boards with Campbell Divinity and Baptist Women in Ministry of NC where she mentored and championed women in ministry roles throughout the state. Her passions include traveling with her family, cheering for Duke Basketball and the Atlanta Braves, and decorating multiple Christmas trees each year!
Caroline & Erik Davidson
Rev. Erik Davidson is the Senior Pastor at Lyndale Baptist Church in Chesterfield. Erik has served at Lyndale since 2014, before serving at Lyndale he has served in other church in Virginia and North Carolina. Erik is a graduate of North Carolina State University and BTSR. He has served in several roles with Middle District Baptist Association and the BGAV. Erik’s passion is meeting people where they are in their journey and helping them see God’s love for them.
Caroline Davidson is the co-owner of the Midlothian Book Exchange. Before purchasing the Midlothian Book Exchange, she had 26 years in direct sales. Caroline loves to volunteer and has served on several committees for the Middle District Baptist Association, BGAV, and the New Shoes for Back to School Ministry. Caroline has truly found her calling at the bookstore and loves being surrounded by books and being a community for all book lovers.
Erik and Caroline have been married for close to 25 years and have one son James that constantly keeps them on their toes. They enjoying exploring new areas and trying new restaurants.
Win Davis, Executive Director of Missions – Dover Baptist Association
Rev. Arnold ‘Win’ Davis is the Executive Director of Missions for the Dover Baptist Association, and the former Senior Pastor at Cambridge Baptist Church.
Win graduated Summa Cum Laude and Valedictorian with a Master of Divinity degree from the Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology at Virginia Union University. Win also earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Communication with a minor in Business Administration from James Madison University.
Win is the co-author of the book Cross Training: A Sports Devotional and writes a monthly blog.
Prior to accepting the call to full time ministry, Win was a communications consultant for The Beacon, a national Christian radio program, and served as the Executive Director and contributing editor for an international media and conference group.
Dr. Wayne Faison, Executive Director – Baptist General Association of Virginia
God called Wayne from banking to vocational ministry. He moved to Virginia to begin his career with the BGAV in 2001. After serving in several positions – most recently as Growth Venture Staff Coordinator – he was elected as BGAV Executive Director in November 2022 during the 199th BGAV annual meeting in Hampton, Virginia.
In addition to his role with BGAV, Wayne also serves as pastor of East End Baptist Church in Suffolk, Virginia. He holds a Doctor of Ministry in Black Church Leadership, as well as a Masters of Divinity in Missions, Evangelism, and Church Growth, from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. The father of two daughters, he lives and serves with his
wife Carmen in Chesapeake, Virginia.
Christy Foldenauer, Minister in Residence – Baptist General Association of Virginia
Rev. Christy Foldenauer serves as Minister in Residence with the Baptist General Association of Virginia. She is also founder and principal of Illumine, a leadership and team dynamics consulting practice, and works with businesses and churches as they hone leadership skills and capacities for maximum effectiveness in today’s world. Her spiritual growth book, Shear Gifts: Finding Hope When Life Is Hard, is available wherever books are sold online. She earned her Master of Theology from Baptist theological Seminary in Richmond.
Alex Hamp, Preschool Director – First Baptist Church Richmond
Alex Hamp serves as the Week Day Preschool Director. She is passionate about nurturing children, helping parents navigate early childhood, and supporting the teaching staff.
A Richmond native, Alex graduated from James Madison University and taught kindergarten at William Fox Elementary. The Fan connection brought her to First Baptist Preschool in 2003, first as a mother and then as a teacher. In 2014 she became Director of the Week Day program. Alex is wife to Dave and mother to four: Madeline, Ellie, Brooke, and Scott. She enjoys traveling, reading, attending her son’s sporting events, and dining out at the many fabulous Richmond restaurants.
Karl Heilman, Field Strategist, Capital Region – Baptist General Association of Virginia
Karl Heilman has served as the Field Strategist for the Capital Region (BGAV) since 2018, and as Senior Pastor of Sandston Baptist Church for 32 years.
Amanda Lott, Minister to Children and Families, First Baptist Church Richmond
Amanda has a passion for helping children grow to love God and follow Jesus on all the days, not just the “church days.” She cares very much about all the pieces of forming a child’s faith: the grown ups who spend the most time with their children (parents, grandparents, chosen family), the spaces outside church (school, extracurricular activities), the church curriculum (worship, formal learning spaces like Sunday School or Music and Missions, informal learning spaces like the playground and mission on the go and the gym, and activities like VBS and camp), and the people who share the joy of forming (teachers, other worshipers, and the people in the hallway!).
Maria Lynn, Executive Director Mission Strategist – River City Faith Network
Maria’s ministry background includes serving as the Interim Director for Dover Baptist Association, Interim Pastor at Hatcher Memorial Baptist Church, Director of Mission Involvement for the WMU of Virginia, Minister on the RBA church plant team for RiverSouth Community Church, Hatcher’s Minister of Education, and 15 years as a
Middle School teacher.
She is a 2001 graduate of Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond and earned a Post-Graduate Certificate in Educational Leadership from VCU in 2007. Maria focused her 2019 Doctor of Ministry project on Developing Cultural Intelligence in Cross-Cultural Mission Engagement.
Because of her love for the Lakota people on the reservation, Maria created a non-profit, Standing Rock Ministry Network, connecting people with ministry on the reservation. Her board service includes Tipi Wakan Ministries, Virginia Baptist Women in Ministry, Central Virginia Baptist Ministries, and Latino Network.
Maria is married to Randy Lynn, Media Director for Bon Air Baptist Church. They have three adult children and three grandchildren that bring boundless joy to their lives.
Alan Ray, Senior Pastor – Ridge Baptist Church
Alan Ray has served as the Senior Pastor of Ridge Baptist Church for the past 21 years. He is a 1978 graduate of Furman University, and 1981 MDiv graduate of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY.
Alan has pastored churches in Boston, KY, Batesburg, SC, Chesterfield, SC, Chatsworth, GA, and Baltimore, MD.
Alan has been involved in short term missions in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and Hamilton, Ontario as well as on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation in North Dakota.
John Sawyer, Executive Director of Missions – Middle District Baptist Association
John is married to Lee Ann and has 2 adult children and 3 grandchildren, all of whom he adores. He is passionate about evangelism, discipleship and helping those outside the walls of the church.
He previously served in leadership for the military and corporate positions, but in mid-career he sensed God’s calling to vocational ministry in 2006. Along with his recent role of Executive Director of the Middle District Baptist Association as of February 2023, he also serves as Pastor of the James River Campus of Bon Air Church. He holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Averett University and a master’s in ministry leadership from Portland Seminary at George Fox University. John’s recent involvement with the BGAV involved chairing the Committee on Christian Life and is a current member of the Executive Board.
John’s desire to reach people with the life changing good news of Jesus has gone beyond the traditional church paradigm. In 2009, John began working with Dr. Peter Scazzero from Emotionally Healthy Discipleship. This has led to being able to train and equip pastors from all around the world to implement the Emotionally Healthy Discipleship Courses in several denominations and cultures.
In 2014, John founded Bridging RVA, a nonprofit with a mission to connect individuals, groups and causes to advance common good in local communities. The work of Bridging RVA has significantly impacted the lives of thousands of people in the Richmond Area.
Through his experience in vocational ministry, he is aware of the unique challenges most, if not all, pastors deal with on a daily basis and his leadership experience in three diverse contexts – military, corporate and church – has equipped him to help coach and walk with other leaders through various challenges.
Sheila Stells, Clinical Coordinator – MEDI Home Hospice
Originally from a farm in WV, Sheila moved to the Richmond area in 1995. Beginning her nursing career in 1993, she always found herself surrounded with the senior population. She developed a love and dedication for educating the community on available resources to fill varying levels of need. Ultimately, she found her passion in educating families, facilities, and the community of the beauty of providing quality and support during the end of life. She currently assists in evaluating patient and family needs and connecting them with available resources. She also collaborates with community members and agencies to provide education on hospice and the importance of supporting individual end of life goals.
Sheila has just celebrated 27 years of marriage to her best friend and they stay entertained with raising three wonderful teenagers.
Bonnie Wilmoth, Facilities Management Director – First Baptist Church Richmond