Associate Pastor Francis-David

Francis-David was ordained on February 9th, 2020 and appointed to the position of Associate Pastor in a ceremony at Shear-Jashub Christian Tabernacle. However, his service to the church started well before that. Baptized as an infant into the faith of his parents and raised from childhood in the church, at 13 years old Francis-David fully accepted the Lord Jesus and gave his life to Him. In September of 2010 he was baptized as an adult at the Madison Town Beach at East Wharf. Since then, he has been a key influence on the church's music. Trained since childhood as a classical violinist, Francis was educated at Community Music School where he rose to first chair at the Connecticut CMS String Ensemble Orchestra. Appointed in 2011 as Minister of Music at Shear-Jashub, he shared that talent with the congregation each week, leading the worship.

A Dean's List student in college, Francis-David graduated in May of 2018 Magna Cum Laude from Regent University with his BA in Biblical & Theological Studies and a minor in Information Systems. His overall GPA was 3.96 but he was a straight 4.0 in his Biblical major.

In December of 2020 he graduated from Regent University's School of Divinity with a Master of Divinity concentrated in Biblical Languages (Hebrew and Greek), again earning a straight 4.0 GPA. Francis-David was then accepted into Liberty University's John W. Rawlings School of Divinity, where he pursued a Ph.D. in Bible Exposition. Having successfully defended his dissertation, in December of 2022 Liberty University conferred upon him the Doctor of Philosophy in Bible Exposition (Ph.D.). With a 3.97 GPA, Francis-David graduated with high distinction. His dissertation was entitled, “The Jewish Basis for the Born Again Experience in John 3” and published on Liberty University Scholars Crossing.

Francis-David's clear strength is his intelligence and academic abilities, which combined with His love of the Lord and knowledge of the Scriptures, point to a powerful teaching ministry. And since his appointment as Associate Pastor, that ministry has accelerated. In this volunteer position, Pastor Francis-David has been researching, writing and delivering sermons, providing Pastor Greg with a needed pause at least one Sunday each month. Moreover, when the unforeseen happened and the coronavirus hit forcing the church to shut down, Francis was a key part of the team that jumped into action to make sure the congregation had regular Sunday messages with the new YouTube channel project. You can watch Pastor Francis-David at the Shear-Jashub Christian Tabernacle YouTube channel.

But it is primarily his scholastic abilities--his knowledge of the Scriptures and his study of Christian history, coming from his deep love of the Lord Jesus--that have been a wonderful help for his father, Pastor Greg Scalzo. Since his acceptance of the Lord, Francis-David has had a hunger for the things of the Bible. Early on Pastor Greg was able to trust him to accurately deal with questions that arose in the church Bible studies. His familiarity with the things of the Lord and the wealth of information he retained were well beyond his years. Even before his ordination, Francis-David assisted the pastor many times in biblical research for the church and with scholarly writings featured on the Article section of the church website (his undergraduate paper analyzing homeschooling has received the most visits of any page).

Francis-David's academic accomplishments have been impressive. On his high school's Honor Roll regularly, he graduated from Abeka Academy with a 4.1 GPA. On graduation he received the Academic Honors Award, the Academic Achievement Award, and the 2014 President's Education Award for Outstanding Academic Excellence signed by President Obama. He was also granted membership into the National Society of High School Scholars.

The call of God on Francis-David's life has been evident from the very beginning and gifts of the Holy Spirit have been manifested in his walk with the Lord. Pastor Greg comments, "One of the inspiring things I have had the privilege to watch is his determination to overcome a mild speech impediment which he had from childhood. Because of his love of the Lord and his desire to preach His Word, Francis worked diligently for years with his speech therapist making the impediment now barely noticeable. His professionalism, determination, and godliness and his deep faith in Jesus, as well as his commitment to be accurate in his message and present only the truth of Scripture, make him well suited for the position of Associate Pastor."

"But more than knowledge and ability, it is Francis-David's kind heart and his love of the Lord which is displayed in his care for others that most indicates his Christian maturity. Often I have had people tell me that Francis-David's attitude is so refreshing and so different from the majority of his generation. His gentleness and concern is appreciated by all who know him."

With Dr. Francis-David Scalzo as the Associate Pastor, the members and ministry partners are confident that the church will be in a solid position to move forward in God's plan.