Derick has been in ministry since 1975, and became an ordained minister under the Church of God in Christ denomination in 1996. He has served as an Associate Pastor from 1996 to 2013.
Derick met Pamela at a Toastmasters meeting in 1992. (Toastmasters is an international organization that helps its members become proficient in public speaking.) Shortly thereafter, he and Pamela were married and have been happily married ever since, with no children by choice. However, they founded and directed a thriving 501(c)3 non-profit, social and care ministry for single adults and single parents for 16 years prior to moving to Florida.
Derick and Pamela moved from California to central Florida in 2013 to be of assistance to Pamela’s parents who were recovering from major medical challenges at the time. They found New Song Community Church on the internet, and Derick immediately began attending the weekly men’s group. In 2017, he became part of New Song’s pastoral staff, and transferred his ordination to the Christian and Missionary Alliance denomination. In May 2023, Derick became Sr. Pastor of New Song Community Church after the founding and Sr. Pastor, Tom Ash, decided to step down and focus on his health.
The Lord called Pamela to worship dance in 2003. Pamela is a Certified Flexibility Instructor, Certified Worship Dance Teacher and Licensed Worship Dance Minister through Dancing For Him Ministries. She currently is the Director & main Choreographer of Adoration in Motion (AIM) — a local community, senior adult worship arts ministry– for the past 10 years, with all its members attending different Christian churches. They minister at various faith-based events and at local churches.
Derick and Pamela look forward to continuing the legacy of preaching and teaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ, making disciples, equipping the saints in their gifting and ministries, and furthering the Kingdom of God.
Tom Ash was born and raised in Bellaire, Michigan, a few miles away from where members of the Morse family were before they came to Central Florida to start up and grow The Villages.
When he was 37, Tom made a commitment to God, briefly leaving Florida before heading to Tarpon Springs. In 1987, he graduated from Bible college. A few years later, he become the mayor of Tarpon Springs, serving a two-year term. He and Jean also started a retirement home for senior adults there.
It was also in Tarpon Springs where Tom began an annual tradition that continues at New Song Church to this day, hosting a free community dinner for residents on Thanksgiving. In 2004, he and his wife, Jean, made the decision to move to The Villages to plant a church. “We knew of several families who were now in The Villages area who requested that we plant a church,” he said. “At first, we held services in private homes.”
When he wasn’t serving the Lord in The Villages, Ash served breakfast and lunch specials at the Sonrise Cafe, an eatery that was one of the first restaurants established in the Southern Trace Plaza. “We ran the eatery for five years,” he said. “We wanted to meet people, get the church going and spread the word that we were here for the community.”
After about two years of renting space on U.S. Highway 301, they moved the church into its current location. The structure was built by the now-defunct Equity Baptist Church in 1893. “It was a great fit for us, and New Song Community found itself a permanent home there,” Ash said. “It truly was a blessing.”
Tom stepped down as senior pastor of New Song Community in 2023, but is still active at the church, as well as teaching local Bible studies and being a guest preacher at different churches, whether he is in The Villages or in Michigan.
