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Meet the Pastors |
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Reverend Nancy Reeves
Pastor
Pastor Nancy Reeves had a dream of starting a new church for those who did not have a church home. Thirty-eight people gathered in her living room one November evening to share their hopes and dreams for a new church family. One month later this group gathered for their first worship service on a cold December night in a park.
Pastor Nancy graduated from the University of Texas with a degree in education in 1977. As a full time mom and church volunteer, she slowly accept God's calling to serve Christ in new ways and entered Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary in the fall of 1988. Her husband Kevin and children Matt, Chris and Vicky have been a true source of strength and encouragement.
Her first call was as Associate Pastor at University Presbyterian Church where her responsibilities included Evangelism and Education. While at UPC Pastor Nancy began embracing her gifts in the area of Evangelism, feeling called to invite people to explore both their faith and doubts. As her dream of a new congregation began to unfold, Pastor Nancy has encouraged people to come a little closer to Christ, feeling free to express their questions and struggles with faith issues.
Pastor Nancy believes that we all have unique gifts and invites the congregation to discover and celebrate their God given gifts. She feels that the church is a family and seeks to have the congregation care for one another during good times and difficult times.
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Reverend Mark C. Tarrant Associate Pastor
Pastor Mark joined Grace Presbyterian in 2005 as our Associate Pastor for Youth and Children's Ministry. Pastor Mark graduated from Michigan State University, majoring in Psychology. He later attended Cooley Law School earning a JD degree and practiced law for over 20 years until God called him to ministry. He began studying at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary in 2000. During the completion of his Masters of Divinity degree he took an extra year to do an internship as a hospital chaplain.
Pastor Mark's wife Lauren, and his children Jordan and Alexa have been a great source of encouragement, even moving from Corpus Christi to Austin so he could attend seminary.
Pastor Mark's love of God can be seen in the way he interacts with the youth and children. "Our children are one of the greatest living gifts God has given us; a gift that keeps on giving. One of the deepest joys I have ever experienced is to be given the privilege of working side by side with our church family and God, as we all take on the tasks of teaching, nurturing and loving our children and youth in the Christian tradition, all in response to the love that Christ gave us over 2000 years ago. It don't get any better than that!"
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Adam Smith Director of Music
Adam Smith joined the Grace Presbyterian staff in February of 2006 as the part time music director. He grew up in the Presbyterian Church in Fort Worth, TX. At an early age he felt a calling to do church music, specifically Contemporary Christian Music. After much prayer and discernment, he was led to Greenville College in Greenville, Illinois to pursue a Bachelor of Science degree in Contemporary Christian Music. In 2005 he received his degree as well as a minor in Digital Media.
While in Greenville, he worked as a youth director and a praise band director where he helped develop contemporary music in a traditional church setting. God's call on his life led him in multiple directions of pastoral ministry during this time, which eventually led him into enrolling at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary where he will receive his Masters in Divinity in May 2008.
Adam was married in April of 2005 to Sarah and in September of 2006 he became a dad to Aaron Christopher. In early 2008 Adam and Sarah expect the birth of their little girl, Kaydence. Sarah is an elementary music teacher in the Austin School District and a virtuoso instrumentalist.
"Music in worship is a wholistic expression of ourselves that encompasses more than just words. It is prayer that involves words, emotions, movement, even touch, The language of music breaks down boundaries. It lets us express our individual selves, our diversity, while at the same time being one unified voice worshipping God. In using a blend of traditional music and contemporary music we acknowledge that the Holy Spirit can and does move throughout all genres of music and we, by no means, limit ourselves to one. Music contains: lyrics that promote change; energy that sustains; and insight into God's will."
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