Dustin Stradley

Dustin Stradley, 30, has been a minister at Elevation Church since June of 2013. Originally, Mr. Stradley never desired to be in the ministry business. He went to school for marketing and management, and graduated with a degree in business from UNC Charlotte. He stayed in the business world for six years, but eventually he stepped out of business and into ministry. In June of 2014, Mr. Stradley moved up to Roanoke. His group had only planned on being in Roanoke for six months, but those six months have now turned into two and a half years. Although his job mainly consists of overseeing the two Roanoke campuses, Mr. Stradley also travels all over the east coast for an outreach program within the church. He performs pastoral duties through Elevation including sermons, baptisms, and biblical teachings, with his main focus on seeing God work through others in the community.

During college, Mr. Stradley ran far from God after having bad church experiences in his early childhood. But after going to jail for the second time, he reached his rock bottom and knew something had to change. After he got out of jail, he called his dad, who reminded him that God loved him and that he needed to get back into church. On August 9, 2009, a friend brought Mr. Stradley to Elevation Church, and from that moment, his life had to be changed for good. In 2012, Mr. Stradley decided to leave the business world and started a ministry apprenticeship with the church. When the year-long program ended, Mr. Stradley became an official staff member and oversaw college campuses in North Carolina. He said, “God had brought me back, full circle, to the same place I had used my influence for destruction, and he let me use it for Him.”

To Mr. Stradley, this wasn’t just about spreading the word of God, to him it was also about seeing people step into their potential and seeing positive life change within someone. When asked approximately how many people show up to church every weekend among all campuses, his response was, “Every number represents a life and thats the only reason we celebrate numbers.” Mr. Stradley spends eight to nine hours every Sunday working tirelessly with the church staff to ensure that everyone feels at home and loved when they enter the church. “We are a church for the unchurched,” he said, meaning that people who typically would not enjoy going to church still want to come to Elevation. This profession requires years of dedication, and Mr. Stradley shows this dedication in every way he can. “I know I cannot be everything to everyone, otherwise I’d be nothing to anyone,” he said when asked how he coped with the work load, “and if I can just remember that, then I’ll be good.”

Mr. Stradley’s endless devotion and support that he puts into the church is extraordinary. His work in Elevation and in the community is a blessing for those who have strayed on the wrong path or are deeply in need of his help and guidance. The amount of compassion that Mr. Stradley has for this community and the people within it make him the perfect Hidden Hero.