Craig Priestley serves Worthy Redeemer Church as an elder. He was born and raised in the back hills and hollows of rural West Virginia. Craig was captured by an awe for Jesus and adopted into God’s family at a very early age. He met his best friend and future wife, Elizabeth, in fourth grade, and 14 years later, he asked her to marry him after completing his studies in chemistry and biology at West Virginia State University. God rearranged the compass of his heart just before graduation, and Craig abandoned his educational path of pediatric medicine and instead relocated to downtown Chicago to study the Scriptures at Moody Theological Seminary and complete a Masters in Divinity. God profoundly reformed Craig’s understanding of Himself and the world both inside the classroom and out in the streets. As a result, both Craig and Elizabeth spent the next 16 years loving and living in the inner city bi-vocationally. Craig has managed a design department in the nuclear energy industry, served as Director of Operations for a church planting network, managed aerospace integrated schedules, and served in youth pastor, assistant and associate pastor, and church planter roles over multiple decades. Craig and Elizabeth moved to Huntsville in 2019. They have four children: Elijah, Anna, Daniel, and Chloe, and a high-energy Maltese Shih Tzu named Chewie. Craig enjoys hiking, fishing, kayaking, retro gaming, and listening to people’s stories.

Jason Crowe serves Worthy Redeemer Church as an elder. A native of Ruston, LA, Jason completed his undergraduate studies at Louisiana Tech University, earning a B.S. in Computer Science. After graduation, he moved to Knoxville, TN, to pursue an IT career.  A year later, Jason married his childhood friend, LaBreeska. They have been blessed with three wonderful boys, Jason Jr., Trenton, and Joshua.  While residing in Tennessee, he was compelled to take an active role leading God’s people in worship. Jason served as worship leader at Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Oak Ridge, TN, and New Covenant Baptist Church (NCBC) in Knoxville, TN, respectively.  He also served as a keyboardist for Maryville College’s “Voices of Praise” gospel choir and contributed to various music workshops as a teacher and musician.  In 2013, Jason answered God’s call to the preaching ministry and became an associate minister at NCBC.  He soon enrolled in Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, earning a Master of Worship Leadership in 2019.  Since relocating to Huntsville, AL, Jason has served as an elder at Mosaic Church in Huntsville, AL, and volunteered his gift for music at various local churches.

Steve Mittwede serves Worthy Redeemer Church as an elder. He recently retired from teaching Earth Science at Randolph School, the position that brought him to Huntsville in 2020. Ever the student, he has graduate degrees in geology, theology, and educational leadership. One of his wisest and most joyous decisions was to marry Dana, a native of Ontario, Canada, in 1983; they had four sons in rapid succession - now all married and raising their broods (15 grandchildren - 16 come November!). The Mittwedes were privileged to live 23 years in Türkiye, where they served in local church development and theological and linguistic education; Steve also ran his own company doing scientific research and editing, and taught at two Turkish universities. He still writes theological articles in Turkish, is a Reasons to Believe Scholar Community member, and does geological and educational research and consulting. Steve loves to encourage the saints of Worthy Redeemer to live as faithful, fruitful believers - in our specific context and abroad. He and Dana make their home in northwest Huntsville, where they lead a Gospel Community; they previously served in local church leadership roles in SC, TX, and overseas.