Pastor Rob's Testimony
I was converted at the age of 12 at a weekend retreat sponsored by my church. Approximately four months earlier, my entire youth group had completed a several month course of study in which we were taught the essentials of the Christian faith. The Sunday after the course was completed, every youth in the group went forward and accepted Christ! This was confusing to me, because we had just learned the truth about salvation, and I was amazed that God would draw every member of the group to Himself but me. During a retreat four months later, however, I was converted by the grace of God. I was convicted of my sin and immediately desired a greater amount of fellowship with God and His people.
During these first four years of my new life I was not discipled at all and I did not grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ. My mother went to church, but did not know Christ. My step-father never went. I craved more of God but was not fed in our church. My family then moved to San Diego four years later and stopped going to church. I was saddened by this, but did not know what to do. During my college years I went to church, but because my faith was not maturing I was blown about by every wind of doctrine. It was not until I was married that I began to attend a church in which I was discipled and my faith began to mature.
I sensed God calling me into Christian service in 1990. At that time, I was in the middle of an active duty enlistment in the U.S. Navy Band, and therefore continued to serve as a volunteer worship leader in my church. During the next four years God increased my desire to know Him and began to confirm His call on my life. I continued serving as a volunteer worship leader and in various other leadership positions in two mission churches. The first was in Glenn Dale, MD, and the second was in Winchester, VA. I was discipled by the pastors and leaders of both churches. In 1994 God began to reveal more of His call on my life as He orchestrated a series of events that allowed me to leave the Navy Band and enter into full-time vocational Christian service.
While serving as a minister of music and youth in Illinois, God continued to clarify my call and I realized that He was preparing me to be a pastor/elder. As a result of this clarification God led me to Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary for preparation where I earned a Masters of Divinity degree.
During seminary, I was immensely influenced by several professors. Dr. Don Whitney, Professor of Spiritual formation, led me to an understanding of biblical worship and the priority of preaching. Dr. Paul Carlisle, Professor of Christian Counseling, who has a passion for teaching believers about life in community, convinced me of the need for intimacy to return to church life. Dr. Ben Aubrey, Professor of Preaching, kindled my passion for preaching. He taught me how to go about the hard work of this task while at the same time to be dependent on the Spirit of God throughout. All of these men, as well as others, deepened my desire and passion to minister. God continued to equip me for this task as well as provide mentors and ministry partners during this time.
After seminary I pastored 2 churches in Indiana, and then God brought my family and I back to Illinois to care for my wife's aging grandfather. For over 2 years we waited on God to reveal His next place of full-time service. I worked as a pharmacy technician during that time, and God taught me much about patience, dependence, and what it means to be truly joyful in times of struggle.
God began Grace Community Bible Church on Easter Sunday of 2004. It has been, and continues to be, an exciting journey in grace with a wonderful group of believers who are hungry to see God glorify Himself in our midst. It is my prayer that Grace Community continues to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ and to continue to grow in our passion for knowing Him and making Him known.