Jeff Spiller was born in Chicago, IL, on September 2, 1954, but his family roots are in Alabama! He is a graduate of Huntingdon College in Montgomery, AL, and Candler School of Theology at Emory University in Atlanta, GA.

Jeff’s first appointment in the Alabama-West Florida Conference was a new church start in Mobile, AL, where he was senior pastor of Christ UMC for 38 years before retiring. Jeff eventually disaffiliated from the United Methodist Church and started Christ Wesleyan Church in 2021. Along with teaching pastor Rob Haynes and a handful of visionary laity, Christ Wesleyan Church was started in Daphne, AL.

This new church, started on the Eastern Shore of Mobile Bay, continues to make disciples for Jesus Christ and does so imitating the model of the Class Meeting. This is the model used by Methodism’s founder, John Wesley, in the 1700’s in England and America.

Jeff Spiller is married to his wife Norma of 46 years and they have an adult daughter, Melinda, and adult son, Adam and two grandsons. Jeff and Norma presently reside in Spanish Fort, AL. Jeff has published three books: “Becoming a Regional Church from the Ground Up,” “Perceptions Volume One,” and “Perceptions Volume Two.”

Rob Haynes (PhD, Durham University) is a church-planter, pastor, author, speaker, teacher, podcast host, theologian, and missiologist. His work focuses on local and global mission and evangelism, forming disciples for missional service, leadership development in new and existing church communities, and fostering new spaces for conversations on faith and culture. Rob is a seasoned leader and continues to develop new ways of engaging in discipleship, evangelism, and mission. He is an ordained pastor in The Wesleyan Church.

Born in Paducah, Kentucky, Rob lived in both Ohio and Kentucky until moving to the Alabama Gulf Coast in 1991. He completed a BSci in education at the University of South Alabama, an MA in biblical and theological studies at the University of Mobile. After seminary training at Asbury Theological Seminary, Rob received a PhD in theology from Durham University in Durham, England. He is a senior John Wesley Fellow, senior Harry Denman Fellow, and a visiting fellow at St. John’s College, Durham University. Rob's publications include Consuming Mission: Towards a Theology of Short-Term Mission and Pilgrimage (Wipf and Stock, 2018), and “‘Come in the Right Way’: Effective Evangelism in Pluralistic Cultures” in E. Stanley Jones & Sharing the Good News in a Pluralistic Society (Wesley’s Foundery Books, 2018).

Rob’s passion is to help individuals and churches join discipleship with witness, mission with evangelism, and personal holiness with social holiness. He is a fan of reading, fishing, football, basketball, and gadgets. Rob and his wife, Beth live in Fairhope, Alabama and have two (mostly) adult children, Joshua and Megan.

Amanda McBane has been part of the Christ Wesleyan family since the first Sunday in our current building. She is now a leader of a LifeGroup, and has been involved with leadership teams at Christ Wesleyan for almost 2 years. She is a family medicine physician with a heart and call to ministry. She has studied at the University of Missouri – Rolla, University of Missouri School of Medicine, and at Duke Divinity School. She is the mom of triplets, Anna, Isaac, and Emma, who are in their early 20’s. She is a native Texan, but grew up as an Air Force kid, living in 9 different states. She has spent most of the last 23 years living in Spanish Fort and Daphne.

Ralph Gudeman was born and grew up in Massapequa, N.Y.
He attended Boston University, receiving both Bachelors and Masters degrees in Music.
Ralph has served churches in Massapequa, N.Y., Stuart, FL and At Christ United in Mobile.
He and his wife, Dale, have been married for 40 years, have two grown children and three grandchildren.

Dena was born in Mobile, AL. Went to Davidson High School and the University of South Alabama. Has worked in the business world since age 18.

Worked in Human Resources department for a large corporation for 10 years, then 3 years for International Paper Company, then the last 25+ years as a Corporate Event Planner and owner of the Event Planning business.

She has been married to Jeff White (originally from Fairhope) for 43 years. They have three sons and six grandchildren. They have resided in Fairhope, Alabama, since 1996.

Gerald Grovenstein was born in Mobile, Al. He attended the University of South Alabama. His current position is the church administrator for Christ Wesleyan Church. Gerald’s previous volunteer church positions include a church council member, church treasurer, administrative board member and board of trustees.

Gerald’s past work experience has been a co-owner & sales manager of a specialty wholesale company, owner of an executive search firm, several roles as a recruiter and sales positions in the human resource field, and finally in the insurance industry.

Gerald is a widower with two adult sons, Dane (Johanna) and Evan (Jessica) with seven grandchildren. Gerald currently resides in Daphne, Alabama.

I have been blessed to be a part of Christ Wesleyan since its founding and currently serve as the leader of the preschool/nursery program of the church. I bring experience from my time as a former elementary Sunday School teacher, VBS leader, and as a Preschool Children’s Leader and Preschool Supervisor at Bible Study Fellowship in Daphne. I’m a retired attorney having attended the University of Alabama School of Law and having practiced law in the Daphne/Mobile area for thirty years. I’m married to Tom Clolinger and between us we have three children and six grandchildren.

Meet Our Team