Meet Our Staff
Committed to Instilling Faith into All Congregants
Pastoral Staff
Rev. David Wakeland,
Senior Pastor
David Wakeland was born in Hattiesburg, MS. He attended the University of Southern Mississippi where he graduated with a degree in history. After graduating he moved to St. Louis to attend Covenant Theological Seminary. During his seminary studies David took a year off for an internship with Dr. Joseph Pipa at Covenant Presbyterian Church in Houston. After graduating from seminary David accepted a call to the First Presbyterian Church in Muscle Shoals, AL where he served as pastor from 1986-1992. David has been the pastor at Southwest since the spring of 1992. He is married to Melinda Montague and they have four sons.
Nathan McNeely,
Youth/ Young Adult Director
Nathan has served as the Youth and Young Adults Director at Southwest Presbyterian Church since August 1, 2024. A native Houstonian, he was born and raised in the nearby Meyerland neighborhood, just south of Bellaire. Though he grew up as a nominal Christian, his faith deepened while attending Reformed University Fellowship (RUF) as a student at the University of Houston (Go Coogs!).
After graduating in Spring 2018, Nathan moved to Lincoln, NE, to serve as an RUF intern at the University of Nebraska (Go Cornhuskers!). In Fall 2020, he relocated to Charlotte, NC, to attend Reformed Theological Seminary, where he interned at Christ Covenant Church (PCA) under Rev. Dr. Kevin DeYoung and worked for DeYoung's resource ministry, Clearly Reformed. Nathan earned both his M.Div. and MACC (Christian Counseling) degrees from RTS in Spring 2024.
While praying for an opportunity to serve a PCA church after seminary, Nathan was delighted to find God had Southwest in mind—right in the neighborhood just north of his own! When not leading youth and young adults, Nathan enjoys not taking himself too seriously, candle lit dinners, cooking, playing and listening to music, reading, traveling, and playing a mean game of Scrabble.
Charles Reed, Seminary Student-Intern
Charles Reed was born and raised in Houston Texas. He is a graduate of Rice University and a student of Reformed Theological Seminary. Prior to his current position at Southwest Presbyterian Church, he worked as the youth group leader. Charles is a 12th generation Presbyterian and is thankful to get to serve the church in ministry
Supporting Staff
Scott
Holshouser,
Pianist
Scott has been a part of the Houston music scene for over 20 years. When Scott is not playing piano at our Sunday services he can be found playing at the Houston Symphony. Singing to God to the sound of Scott's masterful work is the best way to praise God on Sunday mornings.
Jess Lee Wakeland, Office Director
As the office director, Jess is the "go-to" man at the church. He oversees day-to-day operations, manages communications, and handles various administrative tasks. Jess grew up in Houston and has a degree in Marketing from the University of Houston-Downtown.
Church Officers
Our Elders
Winston Dollahon
Mark Elam (Elder Emeritus)
Dan Newcomb
Charles Reed
Steve Thacker
David VanVoorhis (Elder Emeritus)
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Our Deacons
Tim Barta
Erik Calderon
Dan Dollahon
Chuck Holland
Neal Krenzke
Chris Turnbow
James Wakeland
If you would like to contact one of our elders or deacons please email the church at swpresbyterian@gmail.com
Our Founders
"Faith of our fathers! living still in spite of dungeon, fire, and sword"
The History of Southwest Presbyterian Church
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A home Bible study began in September 1988 for the specific purpose of planting a Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) church in the Texas Medical Center/Southwest Houston area. This Bible study, a church planting activity of Covenant Presbyterian Church in Houston, was led by Church Planting Pastor William Fitzhenry. The Bible study group was composed of twelve members of Covenant Presbyterian Church who expressed an interest in this endeavor.
Southwest Presbyterian Church celebrated its inaugural worship service in January 1989. This church gathered at the Sheltering Arms Day Center. Pastors Joseph Pipa, Thomas Hoolsema and Bill Fitzhenry participated in the service.
The Bible Study group was first called the Inner Loop Mission. The congregation chose the permanent name, Southwest Presbyterian Church (PCA), in August 1989 to denote a general location of present and future ministry in Houston.
Worship services were held on Sunday evenings from February through April 1989. Sunday morning worship services began in May 1989.
In October 1991, the mission church petitioned South Texas Presbytery to become a particular church. That petition was granted, and plans were made to organize, elect officers and call a full-time pastor. The church called Rev. David Wakeland, Muscle Shoals, AL, as Pastor; the church was formally organized; and Elders were elected in January 1992. The building in which we meet was purchased in 1994 and adjacent properties were acquired over the next several years. The church called Rev. Ken Thurman as Associate Pastor in July 2003 and he served until November 2020. The church recently began efforts toward building a new structure to house offices and classrooms.
The current membership is about 120.