Leadership

Elders

 

 

Church of the City is led and governed by a board of Elders selected from the congregation. By relying on the consensual agreement of these Elders, the church creates healthy checks and balances of leadership direction, financial accountability, spiritual guidance, and ministry implementation.


Current Elders

Pete Benson

Chariman

Darren Whitehead

Senior Pastor

Kyle Chowning

Randal Clark

Russell Glass

Jeff Jackson

Yinka Jolaoso

Omar Mance

John Roberson


Elder Candidates

Mike Lenda

Mike has been attending Church of the City Franklin for the last 8 years and became a stakeholder in 2018 along with his wife Rachel and their five children. He has served as a community group leader, KidsCity volunteer, and a CityStudents High School small group leader. He helps lead 5by5 Marketing Agency as Chief Services Officer and has served in leadership roles in both non-profit and for-profit organizations such as Starbucks, Compassion, Blood:Water and The Well Coffeehouse. Additionally, he serves on the board of directors for the global humanitarian organization Water for Good and Nashville-based music gathering The Choir Room.

David Smallwood

David was born and raised in Denver, Colorado. After graduating high school, he attended UCLA on a Martin Luther King, Jr. Academic Excellence Scholarship. At UCLA, David met his future wife, Joy. David & Joy married three months after graduation. They’ve been married for 27 years. David & Joy have three sons: Elon, Jaden & Micah.

David & Joy moved to Nashville from Los Angeles 17 years ago. For the last decade, David has been a wealth management advisor. He is a Founding Partner of the firm True Wealth Partners. David also serves as the Managing Director of Northwestern Mutual’s Downtown Office. Locally, David supports and volunteers at Safe Haven Shelter and 4:13 Strong, an organization committed to helping at-risk young men find productive life paths. David corporately sponsors United Way Nashville, and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Middle TN. A recent graduate of Leadership Brentwood, David served as Chair of the Board and is presently active on the Alumni Board. David also serves on the boards of the Brentwood YMCA and the Williamson County Chamber of Commerce.


More Information

Policy Governance
How are the elders selected?
What do the elders do?
Elder Nominations

Elder Qualifications

Overview
Elder Prerequisites
Time Commitment for Elders
Scriptural Overview of the Role of Elder
Elder Responsibilities
Essential Spiritual Gifts of Elders
Our Pursuits
As a church, these are the four ways that we intend to live out our mission.

Presence
of God

We pursue the presence of God through individual and communal spiritual practices.

Formation
of People

We pursue deep change through transformational discipleship focusing on growth and healing.

Unity
of the Church

We pursue the unity of the church family across racial, political, generational, and economic divides.

Flourishing
of the City

We pursue the spiritual, social, and cultural flourishing of our city.