In my role as Associate Pastor, I am continually engaged in one-on-one discipleship and pastoral care, while also building teams of people who provide care and support to the disciples in our group.
I also direct GriefShare, TGP’s outreach to people inside and outside our church who have lost a loved one to death and are struggling with their grief by leading two weekly GriefShare sessions each year. I also provide Pastoral Care alongside other TGP pastors to those in our congregation as it is needed.
Ministry Highlights & Impact
Throughout the year, the GriefShare team has discipled many men and women who were grieving the loss of a loved one. Many of those men and women were new to TGP and found us for the first time online.
We provide a safe setting where each person can explore their deep, and often agonizing, questions while discovering they are not alone. We introduce them to others who are going through the same things they are, so that they experience life in community. Most of all, we open the Scriptures and show them Jesus, their comforter, the “man of sorrows acquainted with grief.”
Growth & Development in this Ministry Area
We have added a new thirteen-week GriefShare session that doubles our outreach to those who are grieving the loss of someone they love. These are spouses, children, parents, life-long fiends, and more.
Several have started attending TGP who did not have a church before GriefShare. Several have been introduced to the blessings of Bible reading and the comfort it brings. Several who were alone when they came have made Christian friends and are now involved in other TGP programs and outreaches.
All have heard the Gospel message clearly and have been challenged to become followers of Jesus.
Vision & Focus for the Coming Year
On January 1, 2026 my wife, Gail, and I will be retiring. TGP@North Syracuse Baptist Church has been our home church family for 46 years and will continue to be our church home for the foreseeable future. This ministry will not stop as others step into positions of leadership, both pastoral staff and lay men and women. To God be the glory, great things He has done!