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Rich GRICH GREGORY

Rich Gregory grew up in a pastor's home in Michigan and was saved at a young age.  His early life context was the local church, which is where he first began to develop a love for the people of God as well as seeing the Word of God do its work in hearts.  It was from these formative ministry experiences that Rich began to see the Lord develop in his heart a desire for full time pastoral ministry which led him to pursue a Bachelor of Arts in Bible at Bob Jones University followed by a Master of Divinity and Doctor of Ministry in Expository Preaching at The Master's Seminary.

Having served as a pastor since 2010 and as John MacArthur's Pastoral Assistant for eight of those years, it was Rich's joy to serve the people of God and to see them grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ.  Since 2014, Rich also served in management at The Master's Seminary as the Senior Vice President for Administration.  It was because of his desire to devote himself to the "ministry of the Word" (Acts 6:4) that Rich departed from GCC and TMS in 2020 to become the Pastor-Teacher of New Community Church in Wildwood, MO.

Rich's desire is to faithfully explain the Word of God to the people of God so that they might know the mind of God.  As Ephesians 4:12 states, he believes it is through the ministry of God's Word that the body of Christ is built up and the people of the church are equipped for the work of the ministry.  Ultimately, it is his passion to serve the church in this way and to see "every person made complete in Christ" (Col. 1:28).

Rich and his wife, Michelle, have been married since 2006 and currently reside in the Wildwood area with three young children.

 

Mark DrinkardMARK DRINKARD

Mark was brought up in a home with periodic, but inconsistent, church attendance at theologically moderate churches. Attendance at church was social and cultural, rather than spiritual. At age 16, his family began to attend a biblically based church, where Mark first heard the gospel.  In the spring of 1994, after being challenged for several months through the church's youth group, Mark surrendered his life to Jesus Christ, accepting what He did on the cross as the only penalty for sin. He had previously understood the story of Jesus as a sacrificial death for sins but had never reconciled this idea with his own need for a sacrifice. This convicting time helped him clearly see his need for the Savior. Mark experienced a true change of heart and mind and transformed from someone who was only concerned about his own interests into someone that was concerned about those of Jesus. Mark publicly professed faith in Christ when baptized a year later.  

He went to college at Texas A&M University, where he continued to grow spiritually and where he met his wife, Sara. They were married in 2002 and have been serving the Lord together ever since and have three children. Although Mark works in commercial real estate as a CPA, he has a master’s degree from Southwestern Seminary, and is currently a PhD Student in Biblical Theology at Midwestern Seminary. In 2007, the Drinkard family moved to St. Louis and started attending New Community Church. 

 

Doug HaywardElder Infographic_Hayward3Doug Hayward

Doug has been attending New Community Church since its second week of inception in 1989.  He was newly divorced with five kids: four boys and a girl.  New Community Church was instrumental in restoring Doug and his five children to spiritual health.  Doug says, "the impact of the leadership and the members in this body cannot be overstated." He met his wife, Lynn, five years after he started attending NCC.  She was also a single parent, and she had three kids.  They met through a ministry called Fresh Start that ministered to Christians experiencing divorce.  They dated for a few years, all the while thinking through the ramifications of blending a family of eight children, including where to attend church, as Lynn was a member of another church at the time.  Doug and Lynn were married in April 1997, and are currently empty-nesters.  Their 13th grandchild arrived at the end of 2018.  Doug retired from the post office in January 2016, after a 39 year career.  He has led small groups on and off over the years, as well as the college and career ministry for 10 plus years.  Doug says, "having crawled into this church a very broken man, with five hurting children, over 30 years ago, I am overwhelmed at the kindness and faithfulness of God to allow me to be serving now as one of the elders.  I consider it a very serious responsibility, as do all of the elders and we covet your prayers."

 

JeremiahElder Infographic_kirbergJeremiah Kirberg

Jeremiah was born and raised in the "Big Sky Country," Montana. He grew up in a great Christian home and attended church every time the doors were open. But it was not until college that God graciously intervened in his life and convicted him of his rebellion against God. While studying business management in college, he began to have a desire to serve the Lord in a full-time capacity. After college he moved to Montgomery, TX, where he served at a church for nearly two years before moving to Los Angeles, CA, to pursue a M. Div. from The Master's Seminary. While in seminary, Jeremiah served as a Pastoral Assistant in the high school ministry of Grace Community Church and was the Director for Regeneration Summer Camp. Jeremiah came to NCC as the Minister of Students in August 2011. He has since taken on the responsibility of church administration in December 2012. He was then installed as an elder in May of 2015 and oversees the overall administration of the church including leading the staff, finance, communications and Equip classes. Jeremiah understands his ministry to be a mercy of God and considers it a great privilege to give his life for Christ's church. Jeremiah and his wife, Courtney, were married in 2009 and have four children, Noah, Hudson, Colette and Adalynn.

 

Bruce SElder Infographic_Scheidhauer copyBruce Scheidhauer

Bruce and his wife, Karen, have been married since 1980 and have been attending New Community Church since 2011.  They have two grown and married daughters and nine grandchildren.   Born in Ypsilanti, Michigan, Bruce grew up in Utica, New York, and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  He moved to St. Louis to work in engineering at McDonnell Douglas and then The Boeing Company for forty years until his retirement.  It was during his first summer in St. Louis when Bruce was saved by Christ.  While working he felt led to attend Covenant Theological Seminary and received a Master’s Degree in General Theological Studies in 2000.  It was a special time in which Bruce grew in understanding the sovereignty and grace of God and in his desire to share with others the glories of God and the gospel of Christ.  Prior to moving to Wildwood and coming to NCC, Bruce and Karen attended and served in Southern Baptist churches.  Bruce loves God’s church and God’s people and is excited to serve as an NCC elder to the best of his ability and by the grace of God.  Perhaps his favorite life verse is Colossians 3:23 NKJV: “Whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men.”