Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Matthew 6:33 – But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

Proverbs 3:5-6

We have in our hands the top ten people who have agreed to serve on our Pastor Search Team – if elected. I want to thank our ministers on staff for putting this together. They have really worked hard to count and call each person. They wanted to put this booklet together so that you can have it in your hands while you pray this week. We all have prayed for this process. We have had several people decline to serve. And that is understandable, because this really requires a lot of time over and above our working hours. However, these are your top 10 people that are willing to serve – if elected. All of us appreciate these people willing to serve, even if they are not elected. Thank you to our church for making the Pastor Search Team a high priority. Thank you to our Church Staff Ministers: Julio, Juan, and Derrick for making this a top priority. They worked extra hard to make sure we followed the By-Laws. Now, I ask you to take this as serious as possible by praying for the Lord to reveal to you for whom to vote. We have all week to pray. Next week, February 25, we will be voting at the end of the morning service. There will be time allowed for people to vote on-line. In fact, if you bring these booklets with you, we will provide a QR code for voting purposes. It is a lot easier to count votes on-line. However, we will have paper ballots to use as well. Thank you for entrusting to me the privilege of serving you as Interim Pastor.Together we are seeing God do a great work here at Wayside Baptist Church.

– In Christ
Pastor Gary Johnson | Interim Pastor

Steven Guaico has been at Wayside since 2015. He has served in the youth ministry leading middle school boys as well as college students in Bible study for many years and now serves with the worship team. Steven and his wife Christel met in the college department here at Wayside and have been married for four years. They have a baby boy named Judah. Steven works for an engineering firm and is bilingual.

Christel was practically born at Wayside. Her mom Patsy served for many years along with Leigh Byers in the children’s ministry. Christel and her husband Steven have served in many capacities at Wayside through the years, including the children’s, music, and youth ministries. They met here at Wayside while attending the college ministry and have been married 4 years, having recently welcomed their infant son, Judah. Christel also works as a graphic designer.

Daniel and his wife Renata have been at Wayside for 5 years. They began their ministry as active members of the Brazilian church before transitioning to join Wayside in 2019. They both serve faithfully in the children’s department leading the elementary students in Bible study and as greeters on Sunday morning. They are also key lay leaders in their Sunday school class. They have two wonderful children in elementary school, Matteo and Julia, who just celebrated her baptism last week. Daniel & Renata have been married for 11 years. Daniel works as training coordinator for LATAM Airlines. Both he and his wife are Brazilian and speak three languages fluently.

Renata and her husband Daniel have been at Wayside for 5 years. They serve faithfully with the children’s ministry and as greeters on Sunday morning. They are also lay leaders in their Sunday school class. They are Brazilian and speak three languages fluently. Renata works as a Regional Product Manager for Lenovo computers. They are blessed with two elementary age kids named Matteo and Julia.

Woody Gentry and his wife Karen, who currently serves as Wayside’s choir director, came to Wayside in 2019. They have been married for 44 years and have three adult children, Matthew, Claire and Danny, and two grandsons, James and Rowan. Their daughter Claire and her son Rowan actively attend Wayside with them. A native of Miami, Woody graduated in 1984 from Miami Christian College, and from Dallas Theological Seminary in 1989 with a Masters in Theology. He then served as the pastor of South Dade Bible Chapel here in Miami for 20 years. In addition, he has served at Miami Christian School since 1997 as a teacher, chaplain and the high school principal, a position he presently holds. Woody serves faithfully in the special ministries department and also currently holds a position on the deacon board here at Wayside. He has a heart for young people coming to know the Lord, which he fulfills through his job at MCS. Woody and Karen decided to join Wayside largely due to the special ministries department as they sought a place to connect their son, Danny, with Christian community.

Leticia Jack was born in Miami and has been at Wayside since birth. Her mother, Fabia Jack, is a faithful member and part of Virginia Forney’s Sunday school department. Leticia grew up in Wayside’s youth and college ministries. She works full-time for the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music and has a bachelor’s degree in international relations. Throughout her years at Wayside, Leticia has served in both youth and worship ministries. She currently works weekly on Sunday mornings as production director in the sound booth. She keeps our services running smoothly and efficiently. She has worked closely with multiple pastors in multiple settings here at Wayside.

Kyle was born in Miami to his parents, Tim and Cossette Meerbott. He and his brother Lance grew up in the children’s and youth ministries here at Wayside and graduated from Westminster Academy. Kyle went on to get a music performance degree from the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music and is now pursuing a doctorate degree from UM in chemistry. Kyle and his wife Nina have been married for four years and help lead worship each week. They have a three year old named Ella. Kyle’s older brother Lance is also married to Yvette and John Hall’s daughter, Meghan Hall.

Vanessa was born and raised in Miami and attended Wayside as a child under Pastor Gary’s leadership, then returned in 2008 as a young adult. She is a graduate of Florida Christian School and FIU and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education. She has spent the past decade working with preschool students with special needs with Miami-Dade County Public Schools. When Vanessa was in the college group here at Wayside, she met her now husband, Creative Arts Pastor Julio Oviedo, who joined Wayside in 2012. They will celebrate 10 years married this March. Together, they have two boys and are expecting a third. Vanessa has served at Wayside in the children’s and youth ministries, tech team, and now leads the Women of Wayside ministry. Vanessa is fluent in English, Spanish, Portuguese and is currently learning Korean.

Clay is the son of Neil and Nancy Peterson and has been at Wayside all his life. He met his wife Rebekah (daughter of Luis and Dinah Rodriguez) while in the youth department here at Wayside, where he served actively as youth worship leader. Clay and Rebekah celebrate 10 years of marriage next month and have two preschool aged children, Bailey and Ethan. Clay leads worship regularly on Sunday mornings and has been helping in that capacity for over 15 years here at Wayside. Clay has a degree from FIU in Marketing and is an entrepreneur, president of InflowMD.

Juan has been at Wayside since 1998. He grew up in the children’s and student youth ministries here and felt called into ministry while in high school. He attended Palm Beach Atlantic University and has a degree in Ministry Leadership Studies. Juan served teaching the middle school boys Bible study for several years and became the Youth and College Pastor here at Wayside after completing his degree, where he has answered his call to ministry faithfully for over 11 years. He met his wife Melissa here at Wayside, and they have been married for four years. Juan is fluent in English and Spanish.