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Tremendous leadership is provided at Grace Church by way of our Elders. These men are gifted servants of God who each have a heart for the ministry of the local church, its people and the people of the community it serves.
Each of the Elders at Grace has met the biblical qualifications of an elder. These are men of character and integrity who provide a living example in areas of spiritual life and church organizational commitment, as well as providing social, financial and marital leadership. Grace is pleased to introduce the following Elders at Grace Church.
SHEPHERDING REGIONS
as of January 2010
City Elder
Azusa/West Larry Keehne
(909)593-5497
lckeehne@msn.com
Covina Rick Merry
(626) 332-6021
rickmerry@yahoo.com
Glendora Bill Watts
91741 (626) 339-5580
Glendora Kirk Howie
91740 (626) 966-0321
khowie@TVMWD.com
La Verne/San Dimas Brad Kear
(909) 394-0561
bdkear@aol.com
West Covina/South Gordon Cooper
(626) 339-9507
gordon.cooper24@verizon.net
Upland, Diamond Bar, Rick Merry
Rancho, Fontana, Rialto (626) 332-6021
rickmerry@yahoo.com
(listed in alphabetical order)
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Gordon Cooper
Gordon accepted Christ as his Savior in October of 1993. He has been a member at Grace since March of 2000. Besides his elder duties, he currently is part of the worship choir and the Thursday night prayer team. Formerly, Gordon was involved in ministry in several ways: ABFG teacher, Evangelism Explosion, short term mission trip to Romania, greeter, small group leader, and sports. Gordon is married to Donna, and they have two children: Kelsey (18) and Gordon (8). Gordon is currently a Mortgage Broker.
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Kirk Howie
Kirk and his family have been attending Grace Church for the last 4 ˝ years, becoming a member 4 years ago. Kirk and his wife, Amy, have been married for 13 years and have three children – Ethan (10), Corinne (8), and Benjamin (5) whom they have home school through Western Christian. Over the years, Kirk has served in the Grace Children’s ministries, sports ministries, Walk thru Bethlehem, Live Nativity (downtown Glendora) and has led a small group for the last three years on Wednesday evenings. He accepted Christ as his Savior at a young age (6 or 7). However, it was during the time between his college years and marriage that his relationship with the Lord grew so much deeper and he began to understand what it meant to serve God obediently and to honor Him in every aspect of life. Kirk continues to follow this each day by spending time with God through prayer and devotion with his family.
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Brad Kear
Brad accepted Christ as his Savior as a young child. He has been a member at Grace since 1991. Besides his elder duties, Brad is a small group leader. Formerly, he was involved in several ABFGs and served on the elder board from 1993-1997. Brad is married to Rita, and they have three children, Kelsie, Casey, and Zak. Brad has been employed by the Azusa Unified School District for the past 14 years.
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Larry Keehne
Larry resides in La Verne with his wife Sharon of 36 years. They have two adult daughters and four grandchildren. Larry works for Albertsons as a Store Director. He has been a member at Grace since 2002. Larry and Sharon have been active in Small Group Life at Grace from the on set, by participating and hosting Small Groups. Over the years, Larry has served at Grace in Walk thru Bethlehem, the Live Nativity (downtown Glendora), Evangelism Explosion, and the prayer team. At 17 years old, he came to know Christ as his personal Savior at First Baptist Church of Temple City. Prior to coming to Grace Larry served as Deacon, Treasurer, Trustee and Sunday School Teacher at his last church, where they attended over 20 years. Larry feels greatly connected to the Grace Community and looks forward to serving in 2010.
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Rick Merry
Rick accepted Christ as his Savior here at Grace in 1994. He has been a member at Grace since 1994. Besides his elder duties, Rick is involved in a small groups and serves in various ways. Formerly, he has been involved in Evangelism Explosion, Men's Bible Study, discipleship, prayer team, and a previous term on the elder board. Rick is married to Debi. With his brother, he owns and operates the family business: one of the oldest wholesale seafood distributorships in Los Angeles.
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Bill Watts
Bill lives in Covina with Cheryl, his wife of 38 years. They have two grown sons and three granddaughters. Bill works for Vulcan Materials as a Sales Manager. Bill and Cheryl have been attending Grace Church for 30 years. At 10 years old, he came to know Christ as his personal Savior at First Baptist Church of Glendora after responding to an altar call during a Revival meeting. Bill says he enjoys the people of Grace Church and looks forward to serving in 2009.
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Gene Wood
Presiding Elder
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