Upcoming Preaching at Briarwood


Fred Greco   
Sr. Pastor at Christ Church in Katy, TX

Fred and his wife Deb are both originally from the Buffalo, NY area. They have four children: Peter, Daniel, Paul and Abigail, and one dog, Tucker.  Before entering the ministry, Fred dreamt of being a teacher – studying liberal arts in College (B.A., SUNY at Buffalo) and Classics (Latin and Greek) in graduate school (M.A., University of Chicago). After deciding not to enter academia, Fred studied Law (J.D., University of Michigan Law School) and practiced as a corporate attorney.

Upon Fred’s graduation from law school, Fred and Deb were married and moved to the Cleveland, Ohio area, where they became involved with Grace Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Hudson, Ohio. Fred was ordained as a ruling elder, and was blessed to have opportuities to minister, teach, and occasionally preach. Deb was active in women’s ministry and missions, two of her passions. In 2003, the Grecos moved far south so that Fred could enroll in seminary at Reformed Thological Seminary in Jackson, Mississippi.  In 2006, Fred accepted a call to be the Senior Pastor of Christ Church, and much to the children’s delight, they all became Texans!

Fred has a passion for preaching God’s Word, shepherding God’s flock, and the Church. He also loves languages, baseball (both watching and coaching), computers and all kinds of gadgets, reading, and vacationing with his family.

 

Tom Hawkes
Pastor / Director of Church Planting at Christ Presbyterian Church, ARP

Tom and Ann arrived in Fernandina Beach, from Charlotte, NC, in November 2021 to begin planting Christ Presbyterian Church, for the ARPC.

Tom comes to the ARP after 35 years serving in the PCA as a church planter, developer of church planters, and senior pastor. Having earned a Ph.D. at the London School of Theology studying John Calvin’s approach to training his church planters, Tom has a heart to see the ARP become even more effective in reaching people and starting new churches. Tom also serves as the Director of Church Planting for the Florida Presbytery and teaches church planting for Birmingham Theological Seminary.

Tom and Ann have been meeting people through the Chamber of Commerce, Rotary, a cycling club, a new-comers club, a pickleball league, their new neighborhood, and the Community Bible Study, among others. The Lord has blessed their early efforts with a growing network of acquaintances, among whom are several families who already are interested in the church plant.

 

Murray Lee
MNA Executive Coordinator

Murray is a lifelong resident of Birmingham AL. He is a graduate of Samford University (Communication Studies, 2002) where he met his wife Kim, Covenant Theological Seminary (Master of Divinity, 2005), and University of Alabama (Ph.D. in Organizational Communications through the College of Communications and Informational Sciences, 2017).

In January 2006, Murray was hired by Covenant Presbyterian Church (Birmingham, AL) to serve as Assistant Pastor of Church Planting.  In September 2007, he and Kim planted Cahaba Park Church PCA, a daughter church of Covenant Presbyterian Church. Cahaba Park Church PCA was particularized in September 2008. Murray served as Cahaba Park Church PCA’s as Senior Pastor until September 2022.

Murray led Cahaba Park Church PCA in the planting of three daughter churches and established a church planting ministry, COHORT, with the help of CPC’s daughter churches and Mission to North America. Approximately 20% of new PCA church plants each year come through the COHORT ministry. COHORT has helped establish more than 80 new churches in 10 years. God has blessed the PCA already through the organizational leadership gifts of Murray as a member of the MNA Permanent Committee (2013-2022); MNA permanent Committee Chairman (2021 – 2022); Evangel Presbytery Moderator (2020 and 2021) and Evangel Presbytery MNA Committee Chairman (2016 – 2022) and assisted in establishing the Alabama Church Planting Network and served in various leadership positions.

Murray and Kim have been married twenty years and have three children.  In addition to his passion for his family and for ministry, he loves watching his kids play the sports they love, working in the yard and Alabama football.

 

Randy Pope
President of Life on Life Ministries

Randy Pope is the founding pastor of Perimeter Church in Johns Creek, Georgia. After 42 years of leading Perimeter Church, in September 2019, he moved into the role of full-time Assistant Pastor of Perimeter Church and President of Life on Life Ministries. He is a graduate of the University of Alabama with a major in math and Reformed Theological Seminary.

His personal passion and commitment is to make and train disciples of Christ. He just finished his 53rd consecutive year disciplining a few men. He founded Life on Life Ministries, an organization committed to establishing life-on-life missional discipleship in churches worldwide. In addition to training church leaders throughout the world, he has been a guest lecturer at numerous universities and graduate schools. He has written books specifically for pastors and leaders, The Intentional Church and Insourcing. He has also written a book for singles, Finding Your Million Dollar Mate. He has developed resources used around the world that include: The Journey, a gospel-centered resource for discipleship and Express Your Faith, a relational way to help others investigate Christ. He has also developed resources for those exploring Christianity that include Life Issues and Next Steps booklets.

Randy and Carol have four grown children and fifteen grandchildren.

 

Joel Beeke
Chancellor of Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary

Joel Beeke served as president of Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary from its founding in 1995 until 2023. He presently serves as the seminary’s chancellor and professor of systematic theology and homiletics. He is a pastor of the Heritage Reformed Congregation in Grand Rapids, Michigan (since 1986), editor of the Puritan Reformed Journal and the Banner of Sovereign Grace Truth, board chairman of Reformation Heritage Books, president of Inheritance Publishers, and vice-president of the Dutch Reformed Translation Society.

 

Dan Doriani
President of Center for Faith and Work in St. Louis

Dan Doriani founded and leads the Center for Faith and Work Saint Louis, and is the host of Working with Dan Doriani, a faith and work focused podcast. Dan has been a security guard, construction laborer, freight handler, tennis coach, and tour guide–among other roles. In his principal calling, he has pastored churches, served as faculty in colleges and seminaries, and authored and edited a number of books. Dan’s fascination with work began in his childhood. His thinking, studying, and biblical interpretation on work has fueled his pastoral passion to equip and encourage others to act, bringing reformation to the workplace. Dan holds degrees from Geneva College, Westminster Theological Seminary, Yale Divinity School, and also currently serves as vice president at large and professor of biblical and systematic theology at Covenant Theological Seminary.