Staff
Charles M. Wingard - Senior Pastor
Charlie sensed a call to the gospel ministry at age 14 during a Lay Renewal Conference at his father’s church. His duty and joy: to assemble with the church in response to God’s call to worship, to unite them in confessing faith in the God we trust, to hear the reading and preaching of his word, to gather in communion around the Lord’s Table, and to testify to the world of God’s redemptive love in Christ Jesus.
He earned his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee in 1980. His theological studies took him to Princeton Theological Seminary, Vanderbilt Divinity School (M. Div. 1984) and Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary (D. Min. 1992). Charlie has served churches in Tennessee, North Carolina, and Massachusetts before coming to Huntsville in 2005. He enjoys hiking, reading political and military history, and traveling with his wife, Lynne. They have four sons.
Eric Zellner - Associate Pastor
A native of Nashville, Tennessee, Eric received his Bachelor’s degree from Auburn University in 1996. While working in the health and insurance industry in Birmingham, Eric sensed a call to pastoral ministry. His call was confirmed by testing his gifts as a deacon, Sunday School teacher and chairman of the mercy committee at Faith Presbyterian Church. He answered the call to prepare for pastoral ministry by completing his Masters of Divinity from Covenant Theological Seminary in 2006. There he served as Director of Placement, Associate Director of Admissions and Student Council President.
Eric and his wife Susan enjoy sharing the love of Christ through building and nurturing relationships. They have four children, Olivia, Emma, Cord and Lucy.
Fred Rice - Assistant Pastor
Fred’s varied career includes nine years in the pastoral ministry and twenty years operating his own business. He grew up in Michigan, but lived for thirty-one years in New Jersey before moving to Alabama. In August of 2007, he begins his third year of teaching high school Bible at Westminster Christian Academy. Fred and his wife Nancy have a son and a daughter, both graduates of Covenant College, and three grandchildren.
He is a competitive powerlifter who has been USA Powerlifting masters national champion six times, and currently holds both the American and world records in the deadlift for his age and weight category. Fred has a B.S. in Music Education, Bob Jones University; M.Div., Grace Theological Seminary; Th.M., Westminster Theological Seminary; and Th.D., Trinity Theological Seminary.
Fred E. Kooi - Director of Music
Fred has been a teacher of music at Westminster Christian Academy since August 2001. He has been involved in church music for most of his life as director of music, organist, pianist, choir director, or handbell director. He has taught vocal and instrumental music in Christian Schools, spanning kindergarten through high school in Iowa, California, and Alabama. His BA is from Dordt College with his MA from Truman State. Fred and his wife, Dori, were married in 1967. They have four children and five grandchildren.
Jason Kennedy - Assistant Pastor
Jason moved to Huntsville in June of 2005 to teach Bible, History, Government & Economics at Westminster Christian Academy. Originally from the state of Washington, he received a B.S. in Political Science from Seattle Pacific University in 1995. After a number of years in youth ministry at a local church, his family moved to St. Louis where he attended Covenant Theological Seminary, from which he received his M.Div. in 2005. Jason and his wife Julie have three children; Rebekah (7), Natalie (4), Elijah (2), and another due in August. He enjoys reading history and fantasy, and also loves the outdoors. He is currently the coach of the Men’s Varsity Tennis team at WCA.
Craig L. Bouvier - Westminster Christian Academy Head of School
Craig L. Bouvier received a B.B.A in Marketing at Augusta State University. He completed a certification in elementary education with a middle school emphasis at University of South Carolina at the Aiken campus as well as a Masters of Educational Leadership at Covenant College. He has one year of Ph.D. work to his credit at Georgia State University and hopes to finish his Ph.D. work in the not too distant future. He has served as a public school 7th Grade Language Arts teacher, a Middle School Principal, an Upper School Principal, and a Headmaster. His passion is Christian education.
Craig enjoys his family-wife, Sheri, their son, Eli and their daughter, Aubrey, and reading, writing, running, lifting weights, hiking, playing occasional golf and basketball.