Ministerial Staff
Rev. Dr. Emmett S. Young III
Rev. Emmett S. Young III is a native of the Washington, DC Area. He has been licensed to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ since November of 1999 at Mt. Sinai Baptist Church and ordained March of 2008 at Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church. Rev. Young received his Bachelor of Science degree from Towson University in August of 2000 and received a Master of Divinity degree from the School of Theology at Virginia Union University in May of 2006 and a Doctor of Ministry degree from the Morehouse School of Religion at The Interdenominational Theological Center in May of 2019.
Rev. Young has been blessed to serve at churches in the areas of Children/Youth Ministry, Young Adult Ministry, Church Administration, Christian Education and Pastoral Ministry. He is immediate former pastor of the historic Loyal Baptist Church in Danville, VA. and Executive Assistant to the Pastor at First Baptist Church in Washington, DC, under the leadership of Rev. Dr. Frank D. Tucker.
He, his wife Karletta and sons Emmett and Zachary reside in Bowie, MD.
Rev. Young’s strong desire is to obey and follow God’s divine plan in his life, standing on 1st Peter 2:9, “Ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people, that ye should show forth the praises of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.”
Reverend Robert C. Washington, Jr. (Reverend Washington) was born July 17, 1968 to the late Rev. R. Clinton Washington and Mrs. Lois R. Washington in Washington, DC.
Reverend Washington attended DC Public Schools and graduated from Calvin Coolidge High School in 1986. Reverend Washington continued his education at Virginia Union in Richmond, Virginia where he majored in Biology.
Reverend Washington has worked in the health care field for over 20 years and is currently employed at Chevy Chase Healthcare in Chevy Chase, Maryland. He is the Financial Administrator for Dr. Frederick P. Smith, MD.
Reverend Washington was called to the ministry on December 27th 2014; Reverend Washington preached his trial sermon on March 1st 2015 and was officially licensed to preach the gospel by The Gethsemane Baptist Church where Rev. Khalfani Drummer his former Pastor.
Reverend Washington is currently a student at the Washington Baptist Theological Seminary.
Reverend Washington is married to Tamara Washington and is the proud father of Robert C. Washington, III and Jourdan Douglas.
Reverend Robert C. Washington, Jr.
Reverend Edward M. Underwood, Sr.
Reverend Edward M. Underwood, Sr. was born in Clinton, North Carolina. He grew from adolescence to young adulthood at the Lisbon Street Baptist Church, Clinton, North Carolina where he was baptized as a youth.
He pursued his education at North Carolina Central University, Durham, North Carolina, where he received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in History. After college, he served in the United States Armed Forces, where he served a tour in Viet Nam. Upon completion of his military tour of duty, he attended the University of the District of Columbia, Washington, DC, where he earned a Masters of Science Degree in May 1974. In May 2010, he earned a second Master of Arts in Biblical Studies with a Concentration in Theology from the Capitol Bible Seminary, Lanham, Maryland.
Rev. Edward M. Underwood, Sr. was licensed to preach in June 2000, and ordained in June 2011 by the Brookland Union Baptist Church in Washington, DC, where he previously served as an Associate Minister, Director of Christian Education, Bible Study Teacher, and Sunday School Teacher. Presently, Rev. Underwood serves as an Associate Minister, and Assistant to the Pastor at Gethsemane Baptist Church. Rev. Underwood is also affiliated with the Progressive National Baptist Convention.
He was employed with both the Federal Government, and the District of Columbia Government retiring with over 36 years of service.
Rev. Edward M. Underwood, Sr. and his wife Catherine have one son, Edward M. Underwood, II, and daughter-in-law Shawna. He is also the proud grandfather of two grandsons, Edward Preston and Chase Hudson Underwood.
Reverend Taylor Gaskins
Reverend Taylor Gaskins is a Native of DC and graduated from School Without Walls Senior Public High School in 2016. She got her BA in English and Spanish from Grinnell College through the Posse Scholarship in 2020.
She then served at Gethsemane from 2020 to 2021 as an Administrative Assistant Intern and Youth Ministry Leader, and was licensed by Gethsemane in July 2021.
She began seminary the following month and in 2024, she graduated with her Master of Divinity degree, with a concentration in Theology and the Arts and certificates in Black Church Studies, Baptist Studies, and Women’s Studies in Theology and Ministry from Candler School of Theology (Emory University).
While at Emory, she completed a ministers-in-training program at Providence Missionary Baptist Church and studied abroad and served at various churches in Birmingham, England, getting a different perspective on Black church and Black women’s faith expression.
She is currently an associate minister and the youth pastor at Gethsemane Baptist Church, and was ordained in March 2026.
In her day life, she is a paralegal at a civil rights law firm and is delving into chaplaincy and writing. Outside of work and ministry, Taylor loves spending time with family and friends, writing, reading and watching movies! Her favorite color is pink, she loves all things Disney, and her dream car is a pink Chevy Spark! Taylor has a deep heart for creative arts and faith, women and adolescent girls, as well as youth and young adults' faith formation, empowerment and wholeness. More than anything, Reverend Taylor is always eager to serve and glorify God in all that she is and does.