The head of the one church is Jesus Christ. As a local church we are an expression of this one body of Jesus Christ. Insomuch then as our assembly consists of born again believers, and we are sensitive to the teaching of Scripture, we are a faithful expression of the body of Christ.
Following the apostles example and teaching, we are led under Christ by elders (the pastor is an elder). The biblical imagery for elders is that of a shepherd, protecting, feeding, leading, and caring. The men who are presently serving as elders are:
Peter Crowder (Pastor)
Peter was born in Wallasey, England, a town just across the River Mersey from Liverpool. He moved to the US in 2000 when he married his wife, Kim, whom he met several years earlier when they both worked as summer camp counselors in the US. Peter worked as an engineer until 2008 when he was called as pastor to Grace Bible Church. Peter and Kim have four young children.
Peter was raised in a Christian family who were committed to the sufficiency and authority of the Bible, so he developed a sincere love for God’s word early on. He took the opportunity to develop this in a more formal setting by enrolling at Capital Bible Seminary. As time progressed, his love for the scriptures developed into a passion to see people come into a relationship with Jesus Christ, that is to be saved and then to grow in that relationship.
It is Peter’s desire to see the members of Grace Bible Church grow in their relationship with Christ, and to reach out locally and globally with the gospel message of Jesus Christ.
John Austin (Elder)
John was born in Lebanon, PA, but he grew up as a “missionary kid” in Africa (Zimbabwe and Swaziland). He met his wife Lisa at Messiah College in Grantham, PA. They have two children, Rachel and Luke. John has worked for 19 years in the IT networking industry. He is currently a government contractor for the Department of Homeland Security (network engineer for CBP, Customs and Border Protection). John is also working towards an Associate of Biblical Studies (online degree) from Tyndale Theological Seminary. He has served Grace Bible Church as a deacon and is currently serving as an elder. John’s local (Loudoun County) ministry is called Grace Car-Care, an outreach to local families or individuals who need assistance with car maintenance and/or donated vehicles. Candidates are mostly located through local shelters and also through word of mouth. John has a passion for supporting Grace’s missionaries and looks forward to his next short-term mission project.