Carl van der Merwe
Pastor
Carl V. van der Merwe was born in Klerksdorp, South Africa and grew up in Western Transvaal, South Africa. He received his BA from the Potchefstroomse University for Christian Higher Education in 1985 and his BD from the University of Pretoria, Faculty A in 1990.
He was ordained in the Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa in 1990 and served as Chaplin in the South African Defense Force. He has ministered in churches in Clocolan and Vryburg, South Africa before he was called as a Church Planter to Greeneville, Tennessee in 1995.
Since January 1996 he served first as Church Planter and was later called as pastor of Grace Reformed Church, a congregation of the Bible Presbyterian Church. Carl and his wife, Elsie are blessed with two children, Mariska and Stephan, and 5 grandchildren.
He was ordained in the Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa in 1990 and served as Chaplin in the South African Defense Force. He has ministered in churches in Clocolan and Vryburg, South Africa before he was called as a Church Planter to Greeneville, Tennessee in 1995.
Since January 1996 he served first as Church Planter and was later called as pastor of Grace Reformed Church, a congregation of the Bible Presbyterian Church. Carl and his wife, Elsie are blessed with two children, Mariska and Stephan, and 5 grandchildren.
Joe Neumann - ruling elder
Joseph K. Neumann was born in Washington, DC, and grew up in rural New Jersey and northern Virginia. After attending University of Virginia-Charlottesville, he completed his BS in Psychology at the University of Maryland-College Park. He received his MS in Experimental Psychology after completing Basic and AIT training for the Army National Guard. He completed Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology in 1975 from the University of Missouri-Columbia.
Joe professed faith in Christ in 1979 and grew in the reformed understanding of Scripture in the early 1980s. He completed a Biblical Counseling Certificate from Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation (Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia, PA) in 1984. He moved to Tennessee in 1985. Prior to retiring from the VA Medical Center in 2002, he completed certification requirements in Biblical Counseling from NANC (now Association for Certified Biblical Counselors). He became an elder in the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) church in the 1990s and retired from the State of Tennessee in 2009. Currently, he has a small private practice at Grace Pointe Counseling Center, primarily engaging in Biblical counseling. He is also an employee of Roth Neuropsychology and Behavioral Associates engaging in a variety of duties. Joe and his wife, Jan, were married in 1971. They have four grown children and five grandchildren. Both Joe and Jan were very active in home schooling.
Joe professed faith in Christ in 1979 and grew in the reformed understanding of Scripture in the early 1980s. He completed a Biblical Counseling Certificate from Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation (Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia, PA) in 1984. He moved to Tennessee in 1985. Prior to retiring from the VA Medical Center in 2002, he completed certification requirements in Biblical Counseling from NANC (now Association for Certified Biblical Counselors). He became an elder in the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) church in the 1990s and retired from the State of Tennessee in 2009. Currently, he has a small private practice at Grace Pointe Counseling Center, primarily engaging in Biblical counseling. He is also an employee of Roth Neuropsychology and Behavioral Associates engaging in a variety of duties. Joe and his wife, Jan, were married in 1971. They have four grown children and five grandchildren. Both Joe and Jan were very active in home schooling.
Neil Smith - Ruling Elder
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Neil Smith grew up in Hampton, Virginia, in the Tidewater area. He graduated from Virginia Tech in 1975 with a BA in Political Science. Neil came to faith in Jesus Christ in the Spring of 1979. He became a member at Grace Covenant Presbyterian (PCA) in Blacksburg, Virginia in 1981. In 1987, Neil was ordained as a ruling elder at Grace Covenant and served there until 1990. Re-located by his employer, Erie Insurance, to Johnson City, Tennessee, he then joined Midway Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Jonesborough, Tennessee. He was elected ruling elder and served there from 1992-2003. Neil joined Grace Reformed Presbyterian Church in Greeneville, Tennessee in 2003 and was elected ruling elder in 2007. He is a certified biblical counselor with the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors (ACBC formerly NANC). Neil is married to Terri, who is, also, a certified biblical counselor with ACBC. They have one son and three grandchildren.
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Jon Eskola - ruling elder
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Jon was born in Massachusetts into a Christ centered home. In 1986, his family moved to East TN and he attended Hancock County High school. He studied construction management for two years and followed his father’s footsteps into the roofing industry. In 2004, Jon and his brother took over the day to day management of the family business and have continued to run it to this day. In 1992, Jon married the love of his life Kim. They have been happily married for 27 years and the Lord has blessed them with ten children. Jon was converted in 1991 by the grace of God. He first was introduced to the Reformed faith in New Hampshire under the preaching of Gregory Reynolds and attended the OPC church plant in Jaffrey, NH for one year. After relocating back to East TN, Jon and his family attended Westminster Presbyterian Church in Kingsport, TN and became members in 2002. After a decade of sitting under the sound preaching of Brent Bradley, Jon and his family moved to the Greene County, TN and soon after
moved their membership to Grace Reformed Presbyterian Church. In 2015, Jon was ordained as a deacon. Jon was elected and ordained as an Elder at Grace in 2019. |
David Berg - deacon
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David Berg grew up in Birch Run, Michigan. He graduated from Central Michigan University in 1986 with a BS in Chemistry. David began his Christian walk at Grace Church of the Islands (PCA), Savannah GA in 1999, and professed his faith in Christ while under the care of Dr. Joe Morecraft at Chalcedon Presbyterian Church (PCA), outside Atlanta, in 2006. He is currently employed as a sales representative for Vanderbilt Minerals. He joined Grace Reformed Presbyterian Church in Greenville, Tennessee in 2018, and was elected deacon in 2019. David is blessed to be married to Tracy and blessed to have one son, Colton.
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Ben Bowen - Deacon
Ben Bowen grew up in Warminster, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Gwynedd-Mercy College in 2009 with a B.S. in Biology. He began his professional career working in I.T. for IMS Health, then accepted the position of Agriculture Specialist with U.S. Customs and Border Protection in the port of Philadelphia, PA. He was given the opportunity to relocate to Greeneville, TN and is currently employed as an Investigator with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Ben is married to Maureen and together have been blessed with 7 children.