About Ellis

The Baltimore area has always been fascinating to me. I grew up about 30 minutes outside of Baltimore in Prince George’s County. In the spring and summer, I wore a Baltimore Orioles hat and in the fall and winter, a Washington Redskins hat. Now I will have to get used to wearing a Ravens hat.

For the past 15 years I have served the Church as a Pastor to Students. My wife and I witnessed the joy of seeing students trust in Jesus. We also witnessed the sad truth that students didn’t always have the support of their family and the local Church. God began to reveal to us that the Church was not functioning as one body with many parts, but many parts function on thier own. So, we attended a conference in Houston, TX asking God to give us a fresh vision or a newfound faith that the Church could be healthy and working together. It was during this three-day event that we started our journey of a new vision.

We knew it involved starting a church but didn’t have a clue past that. I received a call from the pastor of West Ridge Church, in Dallas, GA; he had an opening for a student pastor. We shared that while we loved student ministry, we had a strong urging in our spirit that God was moving our hearts to start a new Church in the Northeast. He shared the West Ridge vision for Church planting. My wife and I thought that this would be a tremendous opportunity to learn.

While on staff at West Ridge Church, I saw how Church planting can impact a city, community or region for Jesus Christ. During those three years, God took our passion for unity in the body and added a second passion – to teach the entire body the Scriptures. With these two passions plus the training we received at West Ridge, we sense that God has charged us to start a Church. My wife and I feel that the journey we started in Houston is coming to full expression.
Early in 2007, I approached the Lead Pastor of The Gallery Church in Manhattan. As I shared with him my heart for the Northeast and asked questions about planting churches in a city, he shared with me his partnership with Embrace Baltimore. After hours of conversation and prayer, my wife and I felt led to pursue Baltimore City.

Over the next several months we started our pursuit: of Church partners, starting team, NAMB appointment, and our starting location. By September of 2007 we were living in New York City to learn multi-site strategies from The Gallery Church of Manhattan. After our four-month research and development process in New York, our family relocated to Baltimore in January of 2008.

Education:
B.S. in Biblical Studies with an emphasis in Youth
Ministry – Liberty University, 1997.
Church Serving History:
2004- 2007 West Ridge Church, Dallas, GA
2002-2004 Charlotte East Fellowship, Charlotte, NC
1997- 2002 Summit Baptist Church, Acworth, GA
1995-1997 Clough Pike Baptist Church,
Cincinnati, OH
1992-1995 Thomas Road Baptist Church,
Lynchburg, VA
2002-Present Youth Advisory Board, Boyce College
at Southern Seminary