Rev. Alexus (Alex) Shelley is a native of Jersey City, New Jersey. He was born to Beatrice (deceased) and Marvin Shelley (deceased) along with his twin sister, Alicia. As a youth, he moved to Virginia in 1984 and continued his education in Henrico County Public Schools, graduating from Varina High School in 1990. He started his higher education at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg Virginia.

Rev. Shelley served as an Engineer in the United States Marine Corps Reserves. After being honorably discharged from the Marines, he attended Richmond Virginia Seminary and graduated in May 2003 with a Bachelor’s degree in Religious Studies. In May 2009, he earned his Master of Divinity degree from Virginia Union University Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology.

Rev. Shelley was a member of the First Union Baptist Church in Mechanicsville, Virginia. His father in the ministry is the late Rev. B. S. Giles who licensed him in 1999 and ordained him in 2001. While there, he worked with the youth and later became Minister of Christian Education.

Pastor Shelley currently holds or has held membership in various religious organizations--the Hanover Minister’s Conference, the Baptist Ministers' Conference of Richmond and Vicinity, and the Society of Biblical Literature.

One of his favorite sayings is “If it had not been for the Lord on my side, where would I be!”