Our Staff
Pastor Matthew Smith
Lead Pastor, Haymarket Campus
Pastor Matthew came to us in 2007 with the chief responsibility to form and serve as the Lead Pastor for our Haymarket Campus of St. Thomas UMC.
Matthew and Danielle have been married for six years and have one son. Danielle is the Senior Church Outreach Associate at Bread for the World (a Christian non-profit organization) and is a third year PhD student in public policy at GMU. Their son, Nicolas, was born in December 2005 and enjoys dancing in the aisles.
Matthew brings several years experience to his appointment at MST. He began his pastoral service in 1999 when he was in seminary in Washington DC and received his first full time appointment to two small rural and deeply divided congregations in 2001. Having brought healing to those congregations, Matthew was then appointed to Andrew Chapel UMC in Stafford VA where he started a new worship service, conducted a capital campaign and supervised the construction of a church extension. In 2006 Matthew was Ordained an Elder in Full Connection in the Virginia Annual Conference. With a passion for following God's will and a conviction that the church must reach beyond its walls, Matthew was trained to serve as a new church start pastor. Matthew is very excited about the ministries and vision of MST and is committed to being with us for years to come.
Matthew can be contacted via email at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
Pastor David Forrest
Senior Pastor, Manassas and Haymarket Campuses
David T. Forrest has been the Superintendent of the Winchester District of the United Methodist Church since 2004. He began his service as a pastor in the Virginia Conference in 1975 and has also served as a UMC missionary in Sierra Leone in West Africa. He holds degrees from North Carolina Wesleyan College, Emory University, and Wesley Theological Seminary. He and his wife, Nancy, a registered nurse, have been married for thirty-two years and have three sons, Andrew (30), Peter (27), and Robbie (20). Andrew and his wife, Elaine, just welcomed their first child, John Asbury Forrest, on May 22, 2010. "Jack" is also the Forrest's first grandchild. Andrew is a seminary student at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas and a new-church-start pastor there. Peter and his wife, Sarah, are in Oxford, England where he is pursuing graduate studies in philosophy. Robbie just finished his second year as an undergraduate student at the University of Virginia where he is majoring in classics. You may contact Pastor David at david.forrest@mstumc.org .
Sarah Royer
Director of Children's Ministries
You can reach Sarah via e-mail at childrens.ministry@sthumc.org.
Brian Stevenson
Worship Leader
Brian joined the Haymarket Campus of St. Thomas UMC as worship leader in February 2008.
Brian Stevenson has a Bachelor's degree in music performance and a master's from Gettysburg Seminary in ministerial studies. Brian has led youth ministries and music for the past 15 years in the Metro Washington D.C. area, developing contemporary services at three different churches in the region. Brian is also a freelance harpist and holds a hospital certification as a harp therapy harp therapy practitioner.
Brian and his wife Tarja (who is a pastor in Lakeridge, Va.) have been married for fifteen years and live in Manassas.
Brian can be contacted via email at music@sthumc.org .
Leslie Oaks
Assistant Pastor
Leslie has served as the Manassas Campus Director of Children's Ministries for over six years. She has taken the required seminary courses to be certified to do ministry and was certified at the recent session of the Virginia Annual Conference.
Leslie can be contacted via email at small.groups@sthumc.org .
