"George is a man of exemplary character.  He truly meets God's high qualifications for a pastor as a man "above reproach.""
 
"He is very gifted in the areas of preaching and evangelism.  He is clearly called by God to preach and pastor.  George has demonstrated this faithfully over many years of ministry that I have been privileged to witness.  His integrity, high character, and friendly and kind demeanor are also strengths.  I would be bereft in my answer if I did not include the great strength George has with his beautiful and godly wife and wonderful children.  The Lawson family is a blessing to the church and testimony to the goodness and glory of God."
 
"George has great potential for ministry.  I would rejoice to serve alongside George in a ministry.  If I was not pastoring a church myself, I would consider it a tremendous blessing for my family to fellowship at the church George pastors.
 

Pastor Clay Miller graduated with Highest Honors from the Master's Seminary in 2001.  He was on staff as the Outreach Pastor at Grace Community Church and oversaw the international and local outreach ministries.  He also taught a variety of seminars at Shepherd's Conferences including (Church Growth Gone Mad and The Way of Salvation).  Clay was an adjunct professor at the Master's Seminary, and ordained by Grace Community Church before being sent out to pastor a church on the East Coast where he had a radio ministry.
 
After pastoring on the East Coast for five years, God blessed them immensely by bringing them to San Tan Bible Church in Gilbert.  Clay's passion as Pastor-Teacher is to love and shepherd the flock of God to greater maturity through Expository Preaching, Discipling, Evangelism, and Leadership Development.  Clay has been married to his beloved wife Margie for twenty-two years and they have two strapping sons and a beautiful daughter.

Before attending seminary, Mr. Hargrove was an active member of First
Baptist Church of Orlando, Florida, where he taught adult Sunday School and was an area trainer in Evangelism Explosion. During seminary, he was on the staff of Grace Community Church,where he pastored the single adult Career Fellowship group. He was one of the initial instructors in Grace’s counseling ministry and is a member of the National Association of Nouthetic Counselors (NANC).

After graduation in 1993, he was ordained and commissioned by Grace to plant a church in the urban community of Inglewood, California. From that  endeavor,Westside Bible Church was born. He currently serves as Senior Pastor of Fairview Heights Baptist Church in Inglewood, California. In addition, Mr.Hargrove has been a professor for the past five years at the Los Angeles Bible Training School and began teaching at The Master’s Seminary in 1998.

"I have known George for nearly 10 years. He and his wife Jennifer, came to Hope Bible Church and soon became active members. George quickly began leading Bible studies and teaching in our adult Sunday Bible classes and Jennifer began leading our women’s ministry. They opened up their home and themselves to serve our church.

George is a gifted teacher. He has a mature understanding of the Word of God and is gifted with a strong ability to exposit Scripture and communicate the meaning of the text on an individual level as well as in a corporate setting. He carefully and skillfully handles the Word of God. 

Teaching is not only his gift but also his love. When he was at Hope Bible Church, he was seeking out every opportunity to be actively involved in teaching ministries in the pulpit and Sunday Bible classes, also as a small group leader, teaching in Bible studies held on college campuses and other opportunities.

George also takes initiative. He sees a need and is quick to offer his service. I believe this comes from his large and genuine servant’s heart. He is always wanting to help, serve, and love others. This is one of his strongest character qualities and comes from a genuine love of people. This allows him to interact and connect comfortably and quickly with all kinds of people. He can make a person feel at ease, love them and serve them as well as teach and instruct them. George is truly a people person.

This love for people extends and is part of the foundation for his passion for evangelism and outreach. George actively seeks out opportunities to spread the Gospel to his community and abroad, constantly loving through witnessing."

Tom entered into a saving relationship with Jesus Christ while in college. There he met his wife, Susan, and became a leader in the Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship ministry on campus. After graduating, he taught in Christian schools for 12 years and earned a Master of Arts degree in theology from Capital Bible Seminary. In the mid-1990s, Tom moved his family to California and in 1997 earned a Master of Divinity degree, graduating Summa Cum Laude from Master's Seminary.

Shortly after graduating, Tom was ordained to the gospel ministry at Congregational Christian Church in Los Angeles, where he ministered while in seminary. His ordination was accomplished with the oversight and aid of the IFCA International, of which Tom has been a member since his ordination.  Desiring to see strong Bible-teaching churches, Tom and his family returned to Maryland in the summer of 1997 to help establish Hope Bible Church.

Currently, Tom's primary ministries are expository preaching, teaching, and supervising the planning and development of Sunday worship services. In addition, he focuses on developing leaders and helping all the members of the congregation to become mature co-laborers in Christ. Tom and Susan have four children: Hannah, Grace, Faith, and Josiah.

Bill Shannon has served on staff at Grace Community Church (GCC) for 20 years (May 1989). He is the pastor of FaithBuilders, a Sunday morning adult fellowship group, and the Pastoral Care and Counseling ministry.  He also provides pastoral oversight for both Women’s Ministries and Grace Community School.

Bill oversees and is actively involved in the biblical counseling ministry at Grace Community Church.  He teaches discipleship counseling and marriage and family classes through Logos Equipping Ministries and provides formal and informal counseling for church members and regular attenders of GCC. He is also a member of the National Association of Nouthetic Counselors (NANC). Bill has enjoyed opportunities to minister internationally as well by teaching at pastor’s conferences and training centers in India and South Africa.

Bill graduated from Iona College (B.A.) in New Rochelle, New York and earned his masters of divinity (M.Div.) degree from The Master’s Seminary in Sun Valley, California. Bill and his wife Donna have two daughters, Deidre and Melissa.  The Lord also blessed them with their first granddaughter, Charis, daughter of Melissa and her husband Ben, in July of 2004.

I have appreciated you since the time you borrowed my commentaries to get ready to preach when you returned from Shepherds Conference a few years ago. There are not a lot of guys like you my friend. Kind, humble, caring, godly, and just plain fun. I have every confidence that the ministry you take up in this next chapter will be so blessed to have you. Kim and I love your family. I think all of you together are a mighty force for the influence of the gospel.

Richard Holland
Assistant Professor of Pastoral Ministries
Director of D.Min. Studies
B.S., University of Tennessee
M.Div., The Master’s Seminary
D.Min., Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

In addition to his role as College Ministry Pastor, Rick serves as the senior associate pastor at Grace Church. He is the director of the doctor of ministries program and a faculty associate in homiletics at The Master’s Seminary. Rick is also the founder and executive director of the Resolved Conference. A native of Tennessee, he has earned degrees from the University of Tennessee, Chattanooga (B. S.), The Master's Seminary (M.Div.), and The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (D.Min.). Rick and his wife, Kim, have three sons.