by Kimberly Smith | Aug 22, 2023 | Ink up your heart, Tattoos on a heart
“He tattooed me.” This is a statement that a mother wrote to me in a sympathy card after my son Ryan’s death on March 22, 2021. It had been a 19-month battle with leukemia amid Covid that left an imprint on many hearts and minds. Why would this mother...
Kevin Kumher serves as the Missions and Outreach Pastor at Grace Community Church and the Lead Pastor at Bethel EC Church in Conestoga. He is passionate about teaching the word of God. His desire is to see people come to know Christ and grow in spiritual maturity in order to be effective ambassadors for Christ in fulfilling the Great Commission.
Kevin is married to Cheryl. They met while attending Lancaster Bible College and were married in October of 1988. They have 4 children. Kristi, married to Jake Kreider. Jon, married to Cait, and daughters Rachel and Sarah. They have 6 grandchildren.
Anita High was hired on staff in May 2022 as the receptionist here at GCC. Anita and her husband Tim started attending Grace about 3 years ago after attending special events with their son and daughter-in-law, Justin and Shayla High. They also have a daughter, Rebecca High.
Anita enjoys reading, gardening, and all things art (music, films, and dance to name a few). She has an associate degree in Biblical studies from Lancaster Bible College. She is currently enrolled in the Colson Fellows Program at GCC where she is being challenged by the “renewing of her mind” to engage in cultural issues. Colson Fellows represent Christians from every walk of life who desire to understand the culture and know how to live and act faithfully within their respective spheres of influence.
A slightly unusual life verse was chosen at age 16 while at “training camp” with Teen Missions in the “jungles” of Florida where she faced a literal 12 foot wall. Psalms 18:29 says- “with your help I can advance against a troop; with my God I can scale a wall.” While not involved in sports in her teens, Anita found running in her late 30’s to be of great help in mental health as well as physical health. Although not currently running, she took the challenge of a marathon in 2013 and counts that finishing medal to be proof that we are often capable of more than we think. Acts 20:24 finishes with- “my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me- the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.”
Cheryl Paxson is the Christian Counselor whose main work is with children at GCC. She has always lived in Lancaster County. Cheryl graduated from Penn Manor High School and Millersville University with a BA in Psychology and an M.Ed in Counseling. She holds PA Counselor Certification from grades Kindergarten to Twelve. Cheryl worked for two years as a Social Worker in a retirement home, two years at Crisis Intervention and twenty years as an Elementary School Counselor. The American Association of Christian Counselors accepted Cheryl’s credentials as a Retired Member. Cheryl has earned Certification as a Mental Health Coach through AACC and Light University. She has enjoyed singing in the Ocean Grove, New Jersey, Choir Festival for many years. Cheryl is married to Jim, who grew up in Cochranville, PA. Jim is a retired Business Manager, who continues to enjoy cabinet making. Jim and Cheryl enjoy traveling in their camper and spending time with their two grown children and extended families.
Linda Hershey is our receptionist and staff assistant. Linda loves talking with and greeting people. Her passion is to see everyone come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. She is married to Bill Hershey, our Facilities Director. They met at a wedding where Bill was the best man and Linda the maid of honor. Bill and Linda celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on October the 9th, 2021. They have two adult daughters and five grandsons, who range in age from two to twenty-four. She has a heart for children and animals of all kinds. Her favorite place to be is on a beach
Bill Hershey, a US Marine veteran and retired Director of Lithography, joined the staff in 2017 after serving a few months as a volunteer on the Facilities Team. He was saved at the young age of 13 and rededicated his life to serve in 1968. He loves that God led him to a behind the scenes position to watch how God is blessing GCC.
Darin Esterly serves as the Music Department Coordinator at Grace Community Church. His calling is to serve the Lord by serving people through music.
He is married to Sally. They met in high school band and have one son Ethan. Darin completed a career in air traffic control and now enjoys making music and driving Strasburg Railroad’s steam engines.
Nicholas Ventresca serves as the Media Arts and Technology Production Coordinator at Grace Community Church. He is passionate about serving the Church through technical and creative arts such as audio, video, lighting, and stage design in order to further enhance the Gospel. In addition, Nick loves to lead and shepherd those who want to express their creativity and servanthood, and leads a team of behind the scenes volunteers who embody these qualities.
Nick is a 2018 graduate of Lancaster Bible College with a BFA in Live Production and Biblical studies. In his spare time, he loves to hang out with friends watching hockey, or playing board games. Say hi to him if you see him in the tech booth or zooming around the building!
Andrew Potts serves as GCC’s Pastoral Assistant, and graduated from Lancaster Bible College with a Bachelor’s Degree in Spiritual Formation and Discipleship. With a love for people, he supports those in the GCC family by providing pastoral care and organizing the guest service teams who welcome our people into worship every weekend. He enjoys spending time with friends, getting outside for walks and hikes, and loves going to concerts!
Alyssa Mayersky has been a part of the Worship Ministry at GCC for over 20 years, and joined the staff as Worship Director in 2016. Gifted with creativity and a pastoral heart, Alyssa loves to not only create beautiful experiences for people to meet face to face with God, but encourage young adult women to embrace their divine calling, follow God’s commands, and become mature in their faith.
Alyssa married Ryan Mayersky June 30, 2017 after having met Ryan at GCC. She graduated from West Chester University with a Vocal Performance degree and piano minor in 2013. Alyssa spends most of her free time with family and friends, writing music, reading, recording, filming videos, and hiking.
Cristina Winchell serves as Youth and Communications Coordinator and is a Lancaster Bible College Graduate with a BA in Youth & Young Adult Ministry and Biblical Studies. She enjoys meeting new people and empowering students to walk confidently in the footsteps of Jesus.
Cristina is proud of her New Jersey upbringing and is still hunting to find a good bagel in Lancaster County. She takes any and all recommendations. In her free time, she enjoys hammocking, hammocking, and finding new places to hammock. Make sure to find her on a Sunday and say hi!
Katie Wieand serves as the Children’s Music Ministry and Administrative Coordinator. She is passionate about investing in the talents God has entrusted to each of His children (Mt. 25:14-30) in such a way that they develop into skill, which God will ultimately use for His glory (Ps. 33:3).
Katie is married to Matt, a science teacher at Martin Meylin middle school. They met on a blind date mini-golfing while Katie was between two out-of-state opera contracts. She thinks God made a “hole in one” that day and she won the prize. They have three children, Audrey, Eileen, and Derek and are the American host-parents of Promise Chen. Katie has a Master of Music in Opera Performance from The Boston Conservatory at Berkley and a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from Belmont University. She feels blessed to be the owner and instructor of Wieand Vocal Studio since 2004.
Natalie Grager was hired on staff in March 2021 as the Administrative Assistant to the Lead Pastor and Church Administrator. Natalie and her family started coming to Grace about 7 years ago after being invited by her parents, Doug and Deb Miller. Natalie is married to Todd, who is also the head of the Men’s Ministry at GCC. They have two children, Avery and Coen, that attend school in the Penn Manor School District. After being a homemaker for years, Natalie was excited to become part of the GCC team because of the love they each have for the church family and the passion to help introduce people to Jesus and walk with them as they grow deeper in their faith. Natalie enjoys cooking, reading, working out, campfires, going to the cabin, watching her kids sporting events and being with friends and family. Her favorite scripture is Lamentations 3:21-23 because of the reminder that even though we are still sinners He continues to be merciful.
Deb Groff is a Board Certified Biblical Counselor (BCBC) through the American Association of Christian Counselors and is a graduate of Shippensburg University. Deb primarily focuses her counseling to women and also coordinates the scheduling and intakes for all the counselors at GCC. She has attended GCC since 2001 and has enjoyed being involved with many ministries and has been on staff since 2012. Deb is married to Jeff, and they enjoy spending time with 4 daughters and their families, which include 16 grandchildren.
Wil Martin is the founding pastor of Grace Community Church which was established in 1995. He retired as lead pastor of GCC in 2011 and has served as part-time Visitation/Teaching Pastor from 2011 until the end of 2020. Wil continues to be active in the life and ministry of the church in his retirement. He is married to his high school sweetheart, Barbie Eberly, and they are the parents of a son and daughter, Brian and Christina, who have blessed them with 5 grandchildren.
Jesse Bills serves as Discipleship Pastor at GCC and Lead Pastor at our partner church Pequea Church in White Horse. Jesse is in the final year of his Master of Divinity degree from Evangelical Theological Seminary and is passionate about helping people both know and show the love of God. He loves to teach God’s Word and create spaces where community and relationships can be formed that serve as pathways for growing relationships with Jesus Christ and introduce the Kingdom of God into new spaces.
Before pursuing his calling into ministry, Jesse spent almost five years as a used car salesman. Now his motto is, “If God can take a used car salesman and transform him into a pastor, he can absolutely transform your life as well!”
Jesse loves all things cars (Chevy), NASCAR (Chase Elliott), Turkey Hill Ice Cream, Chick-fil-a, and Gracie’s on West Main and would love to hear what you love the next time your paths cross!
Brandi Wenger is Grace Community’s full-time Church Administrator. She began her career at Grace as a part-time Administrative Assistant in October 2011, but has been part of the church family much longer. Brandi began attending GCC in 2000 with her parents and two younger sisters. Brandi is thrilled to see the wonderful things God has done at Grace over the years.
Brandi is passionate about helping others discover their God-given gifts and applying them to new areas of church ministry. In addition to daily administrative responsibilities, Brandi serves on GCC’s Assimilation Team, which regularly meets with worshippers to determine their hearts’ desires and where their gifts can flourish. She believes there is no greater joy than serving others in the name of Christ.
Brandi is a graduate of Penn State University – York Campus (2010) with a B.S. in Human Development and Family Studies. In 2011, Brandi married Anthony Wenger. They live on a small farm in the Creswell area. The Wengers enjoy horse-back riding and spending time with family and friends.
Jared Yordy serves as the Care Pastor at Grace Community Church. Prior to that, He was the Outreach pastor for 4 years and was also the Youth pastor at GCC for 5 years. In his current role, he oversees the Pastoral Care & visitation for GCC. Jared considers it a privilege to care and walk with our people when life isn’t easy.
Jared married his wife, Kim, in 2008 and they have four children. John, Jordan, Chelsea and Megan. Jared graduated from both Grace College & Grace Seminary. In his spare time, Jared enjoys spending time with his family, being outdoors, and watching various sports.
Patty Deiter serves as Children’s Ministry Director at Grace Community Church. After 33 years in public education, Patty now combines her love for kids and teaching and her passion for serving the Lord in ministry to help kids grow to know and follow Jesus – for life! Watching kids develop a love for Jesus and grow in their faith along with supporting and equipping families and volunteers makes serving as GCC’s Children’s Ministry Director, her dream job. Thankful and blessed!
Patty is also involved in the GCC Women’s Ministry and enjoys singing with the 8:00 worship team on occasion. Patty graduated from Taylor University and participated in the Masters of Ministry program at Lancaster Bible College.
Kevin Lance serves as the Youth Pastor at Grace Community Church. He loves to build relationships and help students discover and live into the potential that God places in each of them. Kevin believes that creating a space where students feel known, loved, and empowered by caring adults is one of the greatest investments the church can make. He also desires to partner with parents to equip them to help their students grow in their walk with Jesus.
Kevin has been married to Shelby since 2009, and they have 4 kids: Elias, Gavin, Makenna, and Harper, who absolutely light up their lives. Kevin has a Bachelor of Arts in Youth Ministry from Eastern University and a Masters of Divinity from Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary. In his spare time you will find him spending time with family, playing all time QB with the boys, taking the girls out for breakfast dates, going on a hike, or seeing the latest Marvel movie.
Addison Roberts serves as the Digital Online Pastor at Grace Community Church. He is passionate about creating an online environment and content that helps people know and follow Jesus. As a first generation Christian, he is a firm believer in the power of Jesus to permanently change lives and family systems through the use of online resources.
Addison is married to Alyssa. They met while at college in 2011 and graduated together in 2012. They have three daughters. Addison has a Masters of Arts in Theology from Regent University.
Paul Weitzel serves as the Associate Pastor for Grace Community Church and Preacher in Charge at Bethel E.C. in Conestoga, PA. He enjoys talking about Philly Sports and wrestling. Paul will always welcome a bag of Herr’s Honey BBQ potato chips and a cup of coffee from Wawa. He grew up in Oxford, PA, so he considers himself a “local” (although Mike Sigman questions this designation).
In 2003, God changed the course of Paul’s life when Jesus became his personal Lord and Savior. From that time onward, Paul has always wanted to preach, teach and disciple others in the Word of God. He studied at Cairn University (B.S.) and Moody Theological Seminary (M.Div). While in college, Paul met his wife, Jen, who played softball for Ryder University. Paul came to GCC after pastoring in York, PA, for four years. He has been on staff at GCC since 2016 and lives in Willow Street. He has three daughters Madelyn, Carolyn, and Katelyn (a.k.a “The Lyn’s”).
David Julian has lived in the area since 2005, and considers this length of time to have provided him the status of “A Native of Lancaster.” He began as Worship Pastor, overseeing Music & Arts in January 2012.
David is married to his college sweetheart, Jessica, and they have boy-girl twins named Laina and Owen. They were married in 2006, and have grown to consider Lancaster County their hometown.
Graduating from Lancaster Bible College in 2011, David studied Worship Arts with an emphasis in Guitar as his primary instrument. His course load was shared equally between classes training him in Biblical Theology and Music Theory & Arts. His passion within the Music & Arts ministry is first people and their relationship with God, and second to present opportunities for people to connect with the Holy Spirit through the unique artistic personality that each person has.
In his free time, David loves to be outdoors camping, hiking, and fishing. He also loves to build things and exercise.
Steve Brubaker is the Counseling Pastor at GCC. He was born in Lancaster but as the son of a Navy retiree moved around a lot as a child before returning to Lancaster upon his Dad’s retirement. Steve graduated from McCaskey High School, Lancaster Bible College and Millersville University with an M.Ed. in Counselor Education. His experience includes urban church work and ministry with those in a condition of homelessness and addiction. He is married to Kerry, a native of Bloomington, MN and a graduate of the U of Minnesota and Dallas Theological Seminary who works at Water Street Rescue Mission. Both Steve and Kerry were part of the founding of GCC. They are the parents of two daughters, Hannah, a nurse in the PICU at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and Gabrielle, who works at Penn Health/LGH and is married to Alex, a Northern Lancaster County Regional Policeman.
Mike Sigman joined the Grace Community Church leadership team in July 2011, when he was appointed Lead Pastor. In this role, he serves as Grace’s primary preacher, while developing strategic vision and leadership in consultation with the Ministry Council. He is also responsible for the expansion of GCC’s local church partnerships and global outreach, and pastoral team development.
The two things Mike really loves about being pastor is spending time with people and preaching God’s Word. His desire is to challenge seekers to become followers of Christ, and to challenge followers of Christ to deepen their relationship with Christ.
His hometown is nearby New Danville, and his home church is Bethel Evangelical Congregational Church in Conestoga, where he began his relationship with Jesus Christ and answered God’s call to ministry. In ministry since 1986, Mike has been a church planter, pastor, denominational overseer for the US and global Evangelical Congregational Church, and seminary president at Evangelical Seminary, Myerstown.
A frequent preacher at area churches and camp meetings, Pastor Mike also served on the boards of Rawlinsville Camp Meeting and Water Street Mission. A 1983 graduate of Lebanon Valley College, he holds a Master of Divinity from Evangelical Seminary, and an honorary Doctor of Divinity from Lancaster Bible College. Mike has completed post-graduate work at Fuller Theological Seminary. Mike and Jenny live in Smoketown, just east of Lancaster. They are the parents of four daughters: Katie, who is married to Brent Hostetter, Carolyn, Amanda, and Lydia. They are also grandparents to Camden, Grayson, and Macy Kate Hostetter.
Subscribe and receive the Abe's newsletters to follow their ministry in France.
Barry was born in South Africa, the son of missionary parents, who returned to the States when he was eight years old. He spent the rest of his school years in Wheaton, Illinois.
Barry graduated from Columbia International University with a B.A. in 1982 where he met his wife Dawn, and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School with an M.A. in 1995. Barry is ordained with The Evangelical Free Church of America (EFCA).
Barry and Dawn joined TEAM in 1987, recruited for TEAM and then spent fourteen years as church planting missionaries in Italy.
In 2003 they returned to the United States where Barry pastored 2 Evangelical Free Churches in New Jersey.
In January 2017, they re-joined TEAM and Barry currently serves as the Regional Executive Director for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA).
Dawn grew up in upstate New York the daughter of a dairy farmer. She committed her life to missions under the ministry of TEAM missionaries visiting her church when she was in High School. Dawn went on to earn an Associate of Arts in Bible from Columbia International University (’80). And she is a graduate of St. Vincent’s Hospital School of Nursing in New York City (’83). Dawn is a registered nurse (RN) and currently cares for her aging mother who lives with them in their home.
Barry and Dawn have two children, Stephen (30) married to Ashley (29), they live in New York City. And Cristina (24) who serves on the ministry staff of Grace Community Church of Willow Street, PA.
