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The
Senior Pastors of the Longview Community Church... |
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Click
on their picture to learn more.. |
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It
all began with the Reverend Dr. Ed Gebert who came in 1923 and stayed
for 35 years. He organized the church, along with his wife, Ruth,
provided pastoral care to all its members as well as the community-at-large,
supervised the building of the Sanctuary (1926) and the Christian
Education Building (1956), and provided strong moral leadership
in the development of the city of Longview. He is truly known as
the "Father of our family of faith." |
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In
1958, the Reverend Dr. Robert Warren took over as Senior Pastor.
During his tenure, he developed the church's organizational structure,
encouraged lay leadership in decision-making, enlarged the church
staff and hired the Reverend Paul Roper for Pastoral Care, lead
the remodeling of the Sanctuary (1964) and the construction of the
Gebert Chapel (1963). He is well known as the "Organizer of
the Church." |
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The
Reverend Dr. Donald Irwin took over leadership of the church in
1970 and began right away to institute the Bethel Bible Study Series
which was widely taught. He was an effective preacher and worship
leader, provided significant pastoral care in partnership with Rev.
Paul Roper, encouraged missions and was a living demonstration of
faithfulness. He is affectionately know as the "Bible Teacher
of the Church." |
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In
1977, the Reverend Dr. Kenneth Working came as Senior Pastor and
began immediately to emphasize the importance of missions and the
involvement of lay leadership. Additional staff members were added
- Elizabeth Meharg, Tom Adams and Thanh Le. The Lay Counseling Ministry
was stared under the leadership of Dr. David deVidal and Sylvan
Lodge became the site of local missions. Ken is well known as the
"Pastor of Missions." |
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The
Reverend Dr. Harlan Gilliland followed in 1987 and confronted a
split in the church. He came providing pastoral care to a hurting
congregation and leadership in worship. Under his leadership a new
staff was formed with the hiring of the Rev. Phil Schmunk and Kevin
Campbell along with the ordination of Elizabeth Meharg. The Memorial
Program was started , the Annex was purchased, major remodeling
was completed, and it was a time of rejuvenation of the congregation.
Harlan is known as the "Healer of the Church's Hurts." |
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