In 2004, ryan made a decision to follow Jesus and slowly began to give up his pursuit of a tennis career. He moved to North Carolina in 2006 from the great flat state of Kansas to teach tennis and was the director of a private tennis facility for three years. While attending Grace Church, his hunger for the Lord drew him to volunteering at the church, enrolling in Bible school, and eventually joining the Grace Church staff.
After graduating from Grace College of Divinity in 2009, ryan was ordained as a pastor. Since then he has led men in small groups called Fight Clubs, led the Young Adults ministry, assisted Pastor Randy, and helped with staff development. In 2022, ryan became lead pastor of Grace Church. He is currently studying at Regent University for his Master’s degree in Spiritual Formation.
Pastor ryan married Rebekah Peterson in 2008. They have 3 lively children, Emory Eve, Hudson Roman, and Shepherd Sage. He enjoys time with his family, mountain biking, almost anything outside, reading books about Jesus, the brilliance of the local church, and all things concerning Spiritual Formation.
Randy is the founder and Multiply Pastor of Grace Church. After graduating from Grace College of Divinity, Randy and his wife Sarah were commissioned by the Lord to move with their young family to Southern Pines for the purpose of planting a church.
What began as a church plant in the reception area of an apartment complex, turned into a church with over 1,500 in attendance on a given Sunday. The mandate from God for Grace Church, has always been to “Fill the City with Jesus”, and the Lord continues to fulfill this mandate. With the help of God, Randy has assisted in establishing several ministries in the county such as Pregnancy Support Services, Pray Moore County, Sandhills Classical Christian School, and the American Family Radio (now K-LOVE).
Under Randy’s leadership, Grace Church has planted churches in Columbia, SC, Leland, NC, and in the nation of Honduras. Randy and Sarah reside in Pinehurst; they have four adult children and five incredible grandchildren.
Originally moving to Pinehurst, NC in 2013 to pursue a career as a PGA Golf Professional, A.J. quickly realized that God had other plans for his life. A.J. began attending the Twenty Thirty Young Adults Ministry and after fully surrendering his life to Christ began actively serving in the church. Shortly thereafter, A.J. joined the staff as an administrative assistant where he served under Pastor Ryan Peterson.
During his time at Grace, A.J. has held a few different positions from Director of the Twenty Thirty Young Adults Ministry to Director of the Men’s Ministry. After graduating from Grace College in Divinity in 2016 with a Bachelors in Divinity, A.J. was ordained and began serving as the Executive Pastor. A.J. also holds degrees in Business Administration and Financial Economics from Methodist University.
Thomas committed his life to Jesus at 17. Thomas’s sister Ashleigh introduced him to Grace when he was in college and came to visit her at Fort Bragg in 2012. Despite his opportunities in social work, he took a leap of faith and moved to Southern Pines to be a part of Grace.
During his time at Grace, Thomas has been the Assistant Director of Children’s Ministry, Office Administrator, Middle School Pastor, and Groups Pastor.
Thomas is joyfully married to his best friend Colleen. They and their son Shiloh James live in Southern Pines, NC. They passionately enjoy all yummy food, traveling adventures, and their incredible family and friends.
Matt was saved as a child and began to feel God’s call towards ministry at an early age. Matt first came to Grace Church in the early 2000’s and began serving on the worship team. Following his marriage to Natalie, they served in various capacities in the church including the worship team and leading the Twenty Thirty Young Adults Ministry, called 6:33 then. Before going into ministry full time, Matt worked as an Electrical Engineer.
David Pratt is a native of North Carolina and was born and raised in Moore County. After separating from the Air Force, he and his wife Linda of 38 years, returned to Moore County and became active in the unity and prayer movements, Pray Moore County and the National Day of Prayer. The Pratts began attending Grace Church in 1997. He served as an elder for 12 years and began serving part-time as the small group pastor, overseeing the men’s and prayer ministry, while working as a Career Specialist at Sandhills Community College. He came on staff full-time in 2008.
During his time at Grace, David has been a strong community connector, as well as overseeing the membership classes, Freedom Weekend, and pastoral care ministries. Currently, he is the Director of the Care Ministry overseeing counseling, prayer & prophetic ministry, support groups, and a local pastors association, Pastors in Prayer. David is a graduate of East Carolina University with a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Business Administration with counseling courses from Pembroke State University. He is certified through the American Association of Christian counselors in Pastoral Counseling. He is married to his beautiful wife, Linda, and they live in Southern Pines, NC. They enjoy leading small groups, reading, horticulture, and health wellness activities.
Jimmy and Joanna moved to Pinehurst NC when they were newlyweds. A co-worker at Campbell Soup Company invited Jimmy to Grace Church. He and his wife visited and quickly knew they found a church home. The church attendance at that time was approximately 25 people. Jimmy began actively serving at Grace. He has been blessed to be a part of the various stages of growth and looks forward to seeing many more.
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