Rev. Dr. Walter Beaudwin

Pastor Walter is a second career clergy who received his call to ministry after having been self employed as a local contractor in the Southern Maryland area. Pastor Walter had served as Director of Youth Ministries, and later, Director of Disciple Ministries, in addition to his involvement in music ministries as Gospel Choir Director and the leader of praise bands.

Pastor Walter received a Bachelor of Science in Religion from Liberty University in 2005, a Master of Divinity from Wesley Theological Seminary in 2008, and a Doctor of Ministry in Leadership Excellence in 2015. His continuing education includes completing in 2016 studies with the Financial Leadership Academy, a two-year program promoting best practices in financial accountability, stewardship, and growth in local churches and in church leadership. In 2018, Pastor Walter studied with Rev. Dr. C. Anthony Hunt in a Pilgrimage to the Alabama of the Civil Rights Movement, emphasizing Rev Dr. Martin Luther King’s work on developing Beloved Community. In 2019, Pastor Walter became a member of the International Coach Federation (ICF) on completion of Coach Approach Skill Training including Mentor and Group Coaching skills. He is currently working towards certification as an Associate Certified Coach with the ICF. This work includes peer and leadership team coaching in the areas of church finances, leadership excellence and congregational development.

Ordained an Elder in the United Methodist Church in 2011, Pastor Walter especially enjoys leading Bible studies and worship. His preaching style ties Biblical context and truths to contemporary needs, offering hope in Jesus Christ for the salvation of the world. He strives for worship excellence that draws people into the presence of God, the sole focus of our worship, praise, and adoration. In worship, we celebrate with thanksgiving all that God has done in unity with God’s greatest gift, Jesus Christ, and empowered by the Holy Spirit. Pastor Walter believes energetic, uplifting worship that is theologically sound, Christ centered, and God focused draws persons into God’s presence; therefore, experiencing here on earth the joyful worship we will celebrate in heaven. Mission and outreach beginning in the local community and extending throughout the world in meaningful, hands-on ways are part of Pastor Walter’s core values.

A native of St. Mary’s County, Maryland, Pastor Walter has been married to Lauren, a native of Vienna, Virginia, since 2013. They enjoy the outdoors, discovering God’s creation through hiking, kayaking, fishing, and crabbing. They enjoy singing together, going to Christian concerts, theater and the arts, reading, and learning new things. Between them, they have seven children ranging from thirty-four years of age to thirteen- four boys and three girls, one daughter-in-law, and “nearly” three sons-in-law (upcoming wedding September 2020), and two grandsons, so far.

Pastor Walter is a life-long United Methodist. He is deeply convicted by Wesleyan theology and missional emphasis guided by values and ethics rooted in Scripture, Tradition, Experience and Reason focused on Jesus Christ, the grace of God’s unfailing love for all persons, and the sense of connectional community through the local and extended church. He believes each local church body, made up of many diverse persons, is a mission site connected to each other and bound covenentally by the Spirit of God through Jesus Christ to make a real difference in the real lives of real people to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.