The Rev. Frank E. Drake grew up in a missions-conscious Presbyterian home, where missionaries frequently came to visit.  From an early age he was exposed to the worldwide call of Christ.  After majoring in math in college, Frank was unsure of his direction in life -- math? or ministry?  So, led by the Lord, he gave three years as a Presbyterian missionary as a way to test which path he should follow.  After two years teaching math, English, and Bible at the American Commercial High School in Omdurman, the Sudan, it became very clear that his calling from the Lord was not to spend his life teaching how to factor quadratic equations, but rather to share his life with others through the gospel of Christ.

With Chris, his new wife, he returned to the States, studied for the ministry at Princeton Seminary, and then, since they had met on the mission field, they decided that they should begin their ministry together as a married couple by going to Indonesia, again under the Presbyterian Church's mission program.  In Indonesia, Frank taught New Testament, the Greek language, and English at the theological seminary of the Christian Evangelical Church of Minahasa for five years.  Following that time of ministry, Chris and Frank returned to the US for their children's education, and Frank pursued further education in New Testament studies at Princeton Seminary.  During the last couple of years in that program, he also served joyfully part-time as a pastor in upstate New York.

With their two children, Frank and Chris then came to Norfolk, where he served a year as Interim Minister at First Presbyterian Church in Portsmouth, and then for 28 years as pastor at Willowwood Presbyterian Church in Norfolk, retiring in 2009.  During his time at Willowwood, he grew in his awareness of the Holy Spirit and how to cooperate with Him in ministry.  His missions interest never waned, and beginning in 2007 he answered God's clear call to go back to Indonesia to share with church leaders there what he had been learning about God's Spirit.  That calling has continued, and Frank has been back to Indonesia twice a year beginning in 2008, with remarkable fruitfulness by God's grace in equipping church leaders to do ministry in the power of the Holy Spirit.  In addition, Frank has had opportunities to teach and minister in South Korea, Canada, the United Kingdom, and South Sudan, as well as elsewhere in the United States.  All of this mission involvement has been under the auspices of Presbyterian-Reformed Ministries International.

First Presbyterian Church has been tremendously supportive in Frank's life and ministry since 2009, not only blessing him with excellent worship, preaching, and deep Christian fellowship, but also giving him a wide berth to do teaching, prayer, and healing ministry in the life of the church when he is not serving overseas.  Among other things, First Presbyterian has opened its arms to the Dunamis Project in Black Mountain NC, Ignite weekends at the church, and the Dunamis Prayer Ministry, serving since February of 2013 in all of First Presbyterian's worship services. In all three of these ministries Frank has been given a significant role to play.  He is grateful for the opportunity to carry on his ministry now as an official missionary of First Presbyterian Church, Norfolk.