 Dale Smith |
Al Huber |
 John Yoder |
 Steve Tigner |
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| Pastor Dale Smith and wife Jenny | ||||
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Pastor Smith was born in Florida and converted at the age of eighteen. He attended Mid-South Bible College in Memphis, TN, where, surprisingly, he was first introduced to the Doctrines of Grace and Reformed theology. He later transferred to Bryan College in Dayton, TN, where he received his bachelor’s degree, and, more importantly, met his wife, Jenny. From there he went to Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson, MS and graduated with an M. Div. After attending a private academy for two years he and his family moved back to Rockford, IL in 1987. Shortly after arriving in Rockford Dale began leading the home Bible study that Al Huber and a few other families had initially started the year before. In December of 1987 that group began meeting once a month for worship and eventually became Grace Reformed Baptist Church. Dale became the first pastor of the church and remains a faithful laborer in this field. Pastor Smith has taken an active and leadership role in ARBCA (Association of Reformed Baptist Churches of America). He was a part of the group that established the association, serves on the Administrative Counsel and has chaired several committees. Pastor Smith has represented Grace Reformed Baptist Church on two overseas mission trips and will continue that service from time to time. Dale and Jenny have eight children.
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Pastor Allen Huber and wife Lori
Allen Huber was born in 1952 in Sparta Wisconsin where he lived on a farm until his family moved to Florida when he was nine and then to Rockford when he was 15. Though Al was raised in a church he lived a life of quiet rebellion through the early years of adulthood. At the age of 21 he began working as a machinist. It was during that employment that he met and was mentored by a faithful Christian man. Through the ministry of this friend, Al was converted. Over the next several years Al became an avid reader of theology and soon became thoroughly reformed. During that time he served as a deacon in an Evangelical Free Church. In 1986 the Huber family became a part of the initial small group that met to study the Bible using The London Confession of Faith of 1689. In December of 1987 that group began meeting once a month for worship services that were held in the Huber home. Eventually, that group became Grace Reformed Baptist Church. Al met his wife to be at a Christmas Party at the church she attended and they were married in 1974. They now have 5 children, 1 boy, and 4 girls, all of which are walking with the Lord. Four of the children are married, and the youngest girl is in college. They live on a farm which allows plenty of room to enjoy their many grandchildren and host social events for the church. In 1996 Allen became the 2nd Elder of GRBC. Sensing that God was calling him to that work and realizing the need to be properly equipped to “Shepherd the flock”, Al embarked in a training program and is now the only NANC ( National Association of Nouthetic Counselors) certified counselor in the Rockford area. He has many occasions to use his counseling gifts, both inside and outside the church. Al has always had administrative gifts and an entrepreneurial spirit. For several years he served on the Board of Directors for The Biblical Counseling Center of Arlington Heights Illinois. He used his entrepreneurial spirit to create the North American Fabricating Company. NAFCO has been blessed by the Lord with much success. It is a machine screw business with 60 employees that provides fasteners to the automotive, and other industries. Every Thursday Al leads a 30-45 minute mid morning Bible study at the shop. Every employee is welcome to break from their work and attend the study. NAFCO has provided Al with a great deal of freedom to be engaged in ministry.
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Pastor John Yoder
and wife Suzy
In the providence of God, John Yoder was born into a Christian home with good evangelical roots and gracious influences. While a very young boy, he was converted by the power of the Lord. And in hindsight he can see the Lord’s preserving and sanctifying work, thereafter. He went to Wheaton College and received a B.A. in Business/Economics. During this time, he spent a summer in South Africa where he was exposed to various aspects of missionary work. This led him to pursue an M. Div. at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. After graduation, John and his wife Suzanne spent a month in Central Asia doing ‘humanitarian’ work. Soon, he accepted an invitation to pastor a small mostly rural Evangelical Free Church north of the Twin Cities in Minnesota. While laboring there, he came to a fuller understanding of the Reformed faith. Beyond the doctrines of grace, the Lord taught him about worship, evangelism, and church order, etc. according to the Scriptures. Unable to stay in his position, the Lord led him to the church in Rockford, Illinois where he continued to learn under the wise oversight of the elders. He worked in finance for about two years before he was asked to help the church planting effort in Milwaukee, WI which he did full-time for almost two years. As one of the four elders at GRBC, he has continued to do his part in shepherding the flock. John and his wife Suzanne have four children, Caleb, Annika, Ethan and Gabriel. He enjoys a good book, a good cup of coffee, a good walk (while possibly playing golf) and a good conversation.
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Pastor Steve Tigner and wife Bonnie
Born in 1946, Steve is the son and grandson of evangelical church pastors. He has been actively involved in church his entire life. He grew up in Illinois. While in his teens, Steve’s father accepted the call to pastor a church in Rockford. In retrospect, Steve believes that he was truly converted while a high school student in Rockford. At that time he decided to pursue a Christian education in preparation for the pastorate.
While in college Steve married his high school sweetheart, Bonnie, in 1967. Upon graduation from what is now Cincinnati Christian University, Steve pastored a church in Ohio. After a few years he began to question his call to the ministry. In 1972 Steve and Bonnie returned to Rockford. Over the next 25 years Steve became an officer in his church and an owner of a distribution company. He has also served on a number of business, civic and church related boards.
In the late 1980’s Steve and Bonnie were introduced to the Doctrines of Grace by friends at church. Bonnie “saw the light” very quickly. But, as Steve began reading and studying Reformed Theology, the Holy Spirit worked on his mind and heart very slowly. By the mid 1990’s Steve was thoroughly reformed and determined that they must move to a doctrinally sound church.
In 1997 they began attending Grace Reformed Baptist Church while their only child, Tony, was a freshman in college. By God’s grace, over the next few years, Tony became reformed and is now married and pursuing a life of Christian ministry.
The next five years of reading was preparatory. Steve spent countless hours discussing theology with Dale Smith. In 2003 Steve became the 2nd lay pastor of the church and, overall, the 4th member of the Eldership. The Lord has blessed Steve's business with very capable managers. The result is that the business requires very little of his attention. Steve is able to focus a great deal of his time on the ministry of the church.
