Senior Pastor:
Our pastor is Ivan Truman. Drawing from what the apostle Paul said to elders about watching your life and doctrine so that all may see your progress, he summarizes pastoring as, “sanctification on display.”
Ivan received his Master of Divinity from Covenant Theological Seminary, St. Louis, MO. in 1996 and has been at Grace Community Church since then. When it comes to the ministry, it’s his desire to make our church “his first and last one,” modeling, by God’s grace, what a covenant marriage looks like. Since we’re on the subject of marriage, Ivan has been married to his lovely wife Cheryl for over 33 years and they have three grown children, one son-in-law, and three grandsons – and all of that too by God’s grace.
You can tell a lot about a pastor by knowing his heroes, and for Ivan, here are just a few: his mom and dad – Buddy & Drema Truman, Don Carson, John Piper, R.C. Sproul, Albert Mohler, Nancy Pearcy, Bryan Chapell, Joni E. Tada, Kevin DeYoung, David Powlison, Tim Keller, Mark Dever, Elyse Fitzpatrick, Paul Tripp, Ed Welch, Dave Harvey, Nancy Guthrie, C.J. Mahaney, Ray Ortlund Jr. – and just about anyone that Justin Taylor would highlight on his blog: thegospelcoalition.org, which is Ivan’s favorite website for online pastoral encouragement. Here are some of his dead heroes too – John Owens, Jonathan Edwards, John Calvin, John Wesley, Charles Spurgeon, Martin Luther, Jim Elliot, Nate Saint, John Bunyan, Fanny Crosby, Isaac Watts, John Newton, Thomas Cranmer, John Wycliffe, C.S. Lewis, Francis Schaeffer, and anyone else who showed with their life that Christ is gain.
Elder:
Ted Schneller
Ted is one of our lay elders who came to Christ at age 28. He is prone to say, “In Christ it’s not only how you start, but also how you finish,” citing Phil. 1:6. Ted and his wife Lynn, who serves as a deaconess, have been married forty years and have 2 children and 2 grandchildren.
Ted has served as a trustee, elder, treasurer, Sunday school teacher and leader of Christian Service Brigade at churches he has attended in the past. Currently he is attending classes through Only Hope Ministries to obtain his Chaplaincy for prison ministry and partners with New Life Corrections Ministry teaching classes to men at The Kendall County jail. He is also active in ministry at Statesville prison in Joliet.
When Ted came to Christ he listened to many of his heroes of the faith on Moody radio. Some of his favorites included John MacArthur, J. Vernon Magee, Charles Stanley, Robert Cook and Tony Evans to name a few. Growing in the faith he now enjoys reading and listening to John Piper, Paul Tripp, Alistair Begg, Tim Keller and J.I. Packer as well as others.
Ted believes serving Christ is a privilege and a great way to bless others while being blessed and growing in our Lord! “He Died for us! We should live for Him.”