Bob & Gail Werstlein

Staff Care Coordinators

Headquarters Team, Atlanta, US.

Bob and Gail have been married 46 years and have two married daughters—one in Raleigh, NC, and one in Palmetto, GA—with 4 local grandchildren.

Gail received her Master’s degree in Special Education from Auburn University in 1977. Over the first 25 years of her career, she held many roles, including teaching special needs children, supervising student teachers, and operating as the Director of Special Education. She was then Minister of Congregational Care for 14 years for a large Methodist church in NC while completing pastoral training and a five-summer-long course of study at Duke University’s Divinity School. Gail facilitated numerous small groups and Bible studies in addition to being a Stephen’s Minister (one-on-one Christian caregiving), Stephen’s Leader, and supervising that program in her church.

Bob received his Ph.D. from Auburn in 1977 and served as a licensed clinical psychologist for 40 years in community mental health and substance abuse (MH/SA). He was clinical director over and facilitated process-oriented group therapies to adults and youth within three psychiatric (MH/SA) hospitals over his career. He also served as Clinical Director over a 33-county Community MH/SA Center with a broad array of inpatient, residential, and outpatient treatment centers in NC, serving over 55,000 clients annually with 1,000 staff. In his last five years at that agency, he was the Training Director, teaching evidenced-based treatments to Master’s degree-level trained staff. Bob has served in church leadership in 4 denominations and facilitated small groups and Bible studies for many years in addition to being a Stephen’s Ministry Leader with Gail.

The Werstleins have been blessed in their retirement to provide on-site counseling and training to ministry staff members with two agencies in Kenya; member care to 90 missionaries globally sent from Summit Church in NC; training via Zoom to two groups of pastors in Kenya; and, in the Fall of 2023, they will provide on-site training to pastors in 3 countries in East Africa for 3 weeks.

Gail and Bob thank God for using them to serve Him in this way for His glory and are honored and humbled in their new role to come alongside, support, and encourage WDA Staff.