Ministry Staff

Pastor 

Rev. Derek Waffel was born and raised in Chattanooga, Tennessee and complete his undergraduate degree at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. He graduated from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri with a Master of Divinity degree in 2015 and served as pastor at Christ Lutheran Church in Pascagoula, Mississippi, for eight years. He earned a further Master of Sacred Theology degree from Concordia Seminary in 2018 with a concentration in Historical Theology. He comes to Huntsville with a wife, Eve, three children, and three cats. Pastor Waffel has served as Ascension's pastor since he was installed here on Reformation Sunday, October 29, 2023. 

Director of Children's Ministry (Served 2016-2025)

Carla Jo Peebles came to Ascension in 2016 to be the Director of Children's Ministry - in charge of the children's ministry at both the Child Development Center and the church. Carla Jo got her degree from Concordia in Seward, Nebraska. Her first call was to Coffeyville, Kansas, where she was Director of Christian Education for 27 years. This is where she met and married her husband, a youth group counselor. From Kansas, she went to Fort Smith, Arkansas, where she was Early Childhood Director for 10 years. She has been a valued member at Ascension since 2016. She has two children and two grandsons. 

 Organist

Crissi Patterson is a key person during the regular worship services at Ascension, playing the organ and piano every Sunday and Monday and accompanying the adult choir. Crissi claims California as part of her heritage, but she was also in the Air Force for a time before settling in Huntsville, Alabama. Crissi and her husband have two children.

Church Secretary

Judy Burhans