Dan Nash, pastor

Dan Nash is a man of many talents. He loves gourmet cooking, smoking meats, and camping. He has been a manager, and a trainer of managers, in a few McDonald's restaurants and a Walmart, worked in management at a vineyard, lead ministries at homeless shelters, taught at a Christian school, coordinated and led missions trips to Peru, and has been a pastor and elder. In February 2021 he was installed as the new pastor of CREC Annapolis (our church). He is full of ideas, energy, compassion and passion.

Having grown up in the Annapolis region, Dan moved south to Arkansas in 2004,  then, later, to Louisiana. He has returned to Annapolis from Monroe, Louisiana, to pastor us, and is joined by his wife, Rachel, and three of their eight children.

Dan’s goal as a Christian and a pastor is to disciple and to teach his congregation to be disciplers - to disciple our brothers and sisters, and disciple the nations.

Ken Trovato, elder

Ken used to be a helicopter pilot. He also sold helicopters that were delivered as far away as Alaska. Now he works in the security sales field. His real focuses, though, are being active, taking guests out on boats, helping people, socializing, and working on projects on his large property so it's as much fun as possible for church family and his five children and five grandchildren (so far) to be there. One of the big events he and his wife, Jana, host is the Reformation Day picnic, where we eat and sing around a big bonfire.

He has been with Christ Reformed Evangelical Church (CREC) since it began in 1998, and has served as an elder for most of that time.

His vision for CREC is that we be prescriptive, that we worship in the way the Bible describes worship, and that we truly form family bonds that cause us to turn to, help, pray for, and desire to spend time with each other.

Andrew Ruff, deacon

Andrew became a deacon in late 2018. He handles the financial matters of our church and is involved with the church's technical, computer and internet-related needs.

Since marrying his wife, Ashlynn, and having now four children - all boys - his interest in snowboarding and racecars have taken a back seat in his life, but he is cautiously optimistic about being able to get involved with them again someday. Maybe with his teenage boys. In the meantime, he likes playing complicated board games.

Andrew's vision for our church is that we would worship God faithfully, as one body of Christ, and that our love for Christ would overflow into service and building our relationships with one another.

Horace Trovato, deacon

Horace is Ken's son, so he grew up in our church.

He became a deacon in 2019 and his desire is to increase the times we gather to go beyond Sunday, encouraging the development of men's and women's fellowship meetings and impromptu meetings throughout the week, so we build a culture that helps us develop strong bonds as a church family.

Beyond traditional deacon work, Horace coordinates CREC's effort with area churches to support Annapolis area homeless shelters during cold months.

Horace and his wife, Jen, have also been involved in a foster care ministry. They began caring for a newborn boy three years ago who they have since adopted. He joined their two other children, and the family was blessed in November 2020 with their fourth, their third boy.

In his spare time, Horace enjoys art photography and bird-watching, both of which fit in nicely with their home in the wooded area of Crownsville.