Rev. Kevin Dennis

The WVN district assembly of 2004 elected Rev. Kevin Dennis as district superintendent after his 22 years in local church pastoral ministry.  His pastoral experience ranges from rural Ohio to inner city Philadelphia as well as here at home in West Virginia.

As pastor of Philadelphia First Church of the Nazarene, Rev. Dennis assisted in the merger of a Holiness Haitian congregation with the Nazarene church as well as the restart of the predominately African American, Calvary Church of the Nazarene. During his ministry there, Philadelphia First took its first steps toward becoming an expanded compassionate ministry.

In 1993, he and his family returned to their home state of West Virginia to pastor the Wellsburg Church of the Nazarene. The ministry of the Wellsburg congregation experienced strong growth and by 1996 had relocated to a new worship facility.   He concluded his ministry at Wellsburg when he was elected as DS in 2004.

Rev. Dennis is a graduate of MVNU (BA Christian Education) and ONU (Master of Church Administration).  He continued his academic studies at Fuller Seminary (MAGL program) and Nova Southeastern University.  

His wife Deborah is a high school chemistry and physics teacher at Trinity Christian School in Morgantown, WV.  Their son, Jared is an electrical engineer with CSL Behring Corporation in Kankakee, IL.

Rev. Chris Robinson

Chris joined the WVN District ministry in September of 2016 when he became the District Office Administrator.  He comes to us from Indiana where he served as a pastor for nine years.

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Chris was raised in the Indianapolis, Indiana area and was ordained on the Indianapolis district in July, 2012.  He and his wife Melissa have no children, but have two spoiled dogs.  They live in the Fairmont area.

Rev. Andy Newman

Andy was born in Indiana, PA and then grew up in multiple places (VA, NJ, and then again in PA). He grew up in a Nazarene pastor’s home and was called to serve the Lord’s people during his sophomore year of high school. He began serving in ministry and seeking licensure from that time forward.

To be furthered in the Lord’s call to minister, Andy attended Mount Vernon Nazarene University where he earned a BA in Pastoral Ministry (2010). While at MVNU, he met his wife Jenny, who grew up on the WV North District. Upon graduating from MVNU, he pursued further education at Asbury Theological Seminary (Wilmore, KY) where he earned a Master of Divinity (2014) and also a Master of Arts in Theological Studies (2016). During his time in seminary, he served as an associate pastor on the Kentucky District and upon graduation in 2014, he became pastor of Eastland Park Church of the Nazarene (Lexington, KY).

Over his years in Kentucky, beyond pastoring, Andy served as the Academic Dean and Registrar of Bresee Bible College (Kentucky District School of Ministry) for seven years. Also, he served as a member of the Kentucky District Studies Board for five years and as chairperson for four years. In 2020, he was appointed as Kentucky District Secretary and served in that role until leaving to come serve as pastor of Fairmont First Church of the Nazarene in 2023.

Andy and his wife, Jenny, have one daughter, Caroline. They are grateful to be at Fairmont First and to be part of the WV North District.

Evan Gatian

Evan Gatian, a Morgantown native, was appointed WVN District Treasurer in 2018. He is an MVNU graduate with dual bachelor’s degrees in accounting and business administration. He is a Certified Internal Auditor with experience in state government, higher education and healthcare. Evan has served on the WVN District Finance Committee since 2014. In addition, he and wife Erin serve in various capacities in the Pierpont Church of the Nazarene.

Rev. John Witmer

John Witmer was appointed to serve as the WVN District NMI President in the spring of 2023. He had previously served as the NMI President on the Iowa District. He and his wife, Katie, also served as volunteer missionaries in Kosovo in 2011-12 with the Church of the Nazarene.

John currently pastors the Parkersburg Broadway Church of the Nazarene. He has also been a Pastor on the Iowa District and an Associate Pastor on the Washington Pacific and Prairie Lakes Districts.

John has a passion to see the local church engaged in the mission of making Christlike disciples in the nations. His hope is to continue the good work already being done by the WVN District NMI, by mobilizing the Church in missions through prayer, giving, education, and engaging children and youth within the district.

Rev. Christy Johnson

Rev. Christy Johnson serves as our NDI Chairperson since her appointment in 2021. She brings her years of experience in education as former schoolteacher and Christian school principal along with her current experience as a children’s pastor serving at Pierpont Church of the Nazarene. She graduated from Jackson College of Ministries with a BA in Theology, completed the Ministry Preparation Program at Nazarene Bible College and is presently pursuing a Master of Children, Youth, and Family Ministries at Wesley Seminary. She and the NDI council are passionate about discipleship ministries and providing the necessary resources so our churches can thrive in their educational departments.

Rev. Matt Croft

Matt Croft is the Associate Pastor at the Wheeling Mar-Win Church of the Nazarene. His primary responsibilities include preaching when needed, doing a weekly “5-minute-musing,” leading men/youth activities and organizing activities for the community.

Matt has been serving as the Nazarene Youth International President since early 2023. He is currently the most tenured member of the NYI council and has served on the MVNU Field council twice and is grateful to have been given the opportunity to touch many young people’s lives.

Matt has organized and led several work and witness/mission trips to advance participants cultural awareness to places such as Puerto Rico, South Texas, Wyoming, and others. He has a passion for missions as this is what Jesus has commanded in the Great Commission.

God has blessed Matt immensely with a remarkable family. He has been married to the love of his life, Sadie, for 27 amazing years, and together, they have two beautiful girls, Lilly and Savannah (Wesley). They are incredibly close and love to spend time together. He has been working for the state of West Virginia for 25 years, currently managing a specialized investigative unit.

Matt has many hobbies that include hiking, hunting, fishing, shooting sports and travel. In the past 5 months, he has taken over 52 hikes with a goal of doubling this and hiking rim-to-rim in the Grand Canyon. He finds solace and intimacy with Christ during these hikes.