Meet Greg

Greg has been in ministry for over 30 years. He has served in various capacities including as a missionary, evangelist, local pastor, church planter, and university chaplain.

Biography and ministry experience

Greg was given grace to believe in and receive Jesus Christ while he was a student at Old Dominion University in 1990.  After graduation from ODU in 1992, he completed a Discipleship Training School in Richmond, Virginia and the Dominican Republic with Youth with a Mission (YWAM), an international missions organization. Greg & Eileen married shortly afterwards and thought God was calling them to be missionaries.
     During a summer away from Asbury Theological Seminary (ATS), they served as missionaries in the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico.  However, God guided in a different way after graduation from ATS.
Greg served as the pastor of Stokesland United Methodist Church in the Danville District for three years. After that, Greg was appointed to start a new church in Suffolk and the following year was ordained as an elder in 2003. He served Grace Harbor for eight years, having the joy of seeing God bring both an English speaking congregation into being as well as a vibrant Hispanic ministry.   During the eleven years of pastoral ministry Greg and Eileen hosted small groups in their home, believing that Jesus’ model of small group ministry was the most effective way to make disciples.
In 2010, Greg became an Evangelist within the United Methodist Church and was appointed as the Chaplain of Virginia Wesleyan University; he served two years in a part time role. In 2012, he went full time at VWU. Campus ministry was fruitful with shepherding and opportunities to share Christ.  In addition to these roles, Greg has led mission trips to Nicaragua and Puerto Rico and co-led academic trips to England, Scotland and Israel.  He has also taught a course titled "Methodism: The Wesleyan Revival" multiple times. Greg and Eileen have been married for 25 years and are blessed with three children: Josiah 20, Evie 18 and Luke 17.

Greg enjoys walks on the beach with his dog, Faith.

Testimony: Conversion and calling

It was 1990, I was a student at Old Dominion University and was seeking God.  I knew there had to be more to life than the empty pursuit of drinking as many beers as I could in a night.  My Mom had recently experienced a spiritual awakening. Our new pastor, Rev. Al Honaker was clearly preaching the Good News of Jesus and my parents went on the "Walk to Emmaus," a spiritual retreat. As a result, my mom, experienced Jesus' love and had a deep inner peace shining from within. I believed it was God. Deep down, I wanted to follow Jesus, not half way, but all the way.
So, at an InterVarsity gathering at ODU, the speaker told us if we wanted to follow Christ, we had to share our faith and the reality of Jesus with others. This was too much for me. My self-esteem at that time was so tied up in what my friends thought of me that evangelism was terrifying. I left the meeting early, with tears in my eyes, convicted.  I called out from deep within, “God I want to follow, but I can’t do that.  If you can change me, please do.”  I think God likes that kind of prayer.

A week later a friend asked me about my faith, so we talked for hours that evening about Jesus and the scriptures. I was amazed that God answered my prayer – I was able to share and even enjoyed it! I went to my room, knelt and thanked God from my heart. Then, it was as if somebody entered into the room, yet the door was closed. I felt wrapped in the Presence of Love. Awe, delight, wonder and tangible love. I don’t know if my eyes were open or closed, but I could see myself speaking at my home church in Vienna, VA and a message came to me. "The supreme importance of seeking God." I scribbled down the thoughts as they came. I knew that the wisdom which I wrote down was beyond me. I lost track of time, but remember crawling into bed exhausted, yet filled with joy.
I shared the experience with my Pastor, Al Honaker. He smiled while telling me that a group of students from Virginia Wesleyan College, including my brother, were going to lead worship at Epiphany UMC, but they didn’t have a speaker. Pastor Al said, “That’s where you fit in.” I preached over that Christmas and the same peace that I had seen in my mom was now in me. Jesus seeking me, hearing my cry, filling me with his love and sending me to tell others; I’ve never been the same.

Meet greg

Biography and ministry experience

Testimony: Conversion and calling