Jason Allen
Senior Pastor
Pastor Jason Allen came to Woodlawn in April 2020 as the Senior pastor. He gave his heart and life to Christ Jesus at the age of 16. At the age of 18, he surrendered to God’s call to ministry and since then has faithfully served the church in various capacities, including worship pastor, student pastor, and lead pastor. He earned his BA in Christian Ministry from Leavell College and his MDiv Standard from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.
Pastor Jason has a deep passion for the Word of God, the gospel of Jesus, and empowering the church to reach the world for Christ. His greatest prayer for the church is that they would know Christ intimately, grow in their walk with him, and go forward with the message of Christ to the world.
He married his beautiful bride and partner in ministry, Heather Woolfolk Allen, in 2007, and they have three children: Caleb, Gabrielle, and Micah.
Join us at 10:30am each Sunday morning to be encouraged, challenged, and equipped by the preaching of the Word of God through Pastor Jason.
Brian Bates
Music Worship Pastor
Brian is a 2005 graduate of the University of West Florida with a Bachelor of Music degree in Music Performance. He has served in several churches in the Pensacola area. Brian and his wife Kristen both grew up in the Pensacola area and they have three children, Katy, Samuel, and Caroline. He joined the staff at Woodlawn on August 1, 2010.
Bob McNeil
Associate Pastor of Discipleship
Bob McNeil has been in full-time ministry since 2001. He came to Woodlawn in August 2006 as the full-time student minister, and in July 2020, he became the Associate Pastor of Discipleship. He and his wife, Amy, have two children, Carrie and Ethan. The whole family loves working in the ministry. Bob graduated from Georgia Tech with a degree in Chemical Engineering before going to the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary where he received a Masters of Divinity degree in Theology. Bob enjoys spending time with his family, playing whatever sport is available, and reading good books. Bob trusted in Jesus Christ as his Savior and Lord in March of 1990 and has been deeply committed to expanding Christ’s kingdom ever since.
MJ Kelley
Youth Pastor
MJ is a graduate of Liberty University with a Master of Arts in Theology. He has served in several churches around the country and is recently retired from the military. He is accompanied by his wife Nicole, and his five children Jacob, Levi, Caleb, Faith, and Ezra. He joined the staff at Woodlawn in 2022.
Lauren Shipp
Children’s Ministry Director
Lauren has been a follower of Jesus since she was 5 years old. Lauren grew up going to Woodlawn Baptist Church and has loved this church family for many years. As a teenager she felt God calling her to serve in the local church. She has had the incredible opportunity to serve
in multiple churches and various faith based organizations across Florida and into Alabama over the past 20 years. She has served in a wide variety of ministries in the church but mainly focusing on: Youth, Children, Foster care, Family and Worship Ministries. She can not think of a
greater honor than being able to teach Children about Jesus: how to know, worship and serve Him! She and her 5 children: Emma, Anna, Lily, Damon and Evey moved back to Crestview in 2018 and started attending Woodlawn again. Lauren joined the Woodlawn staff in January of 2023.
Mary McDaniel
Preschool Ministry Director
Mary McDaniel and her husband Tyson joined Woodlawn in February of 2015. She is a homeschool mom for the last 10 years for daughters Emma and Sara and son Joseph. Mary surrendered to Jesus as Lord in February of 2009. She has worked in the public school system with the Special Needs Student program. Mary has served in various roles in church from sign language interpretation to leading other volunteers in Vacation Bible School. Over the last 10 years, Mary has poured much of her time into working in the nursery at church and caring for the children in the church’s preschool program. Whether it be in Sunday School or VBS, her sincere wish is that all the children at Woodlawn and in Crestview learn about Jesus and how to live in his light.
Pete Wise
Church Administrator
Pete joined the WBC staff as church administrator in November of 2007. He is a retired Supervisory Electrical Engineer who worked for the Air Force Research Laboratory for over 30 years. Pete previously served WBC as a bi-vocational Minister of Music from 1987 to 1991 and as Interim Minister of Music from 2004 to 2006. Pete is responsible for financial management, facility and resource management, and supervision of our support staff. He and his wife, Anne, have a blended family with five children and fourteen grandchildren.