Today we’d like to introduce you to Greg Larsen.
Hi Greg, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
A journey in ministry is never without its wondrous and mysterious pathways. Having been born and raised in Grand Rapids, Pastor Greg made his way to St. Thomas Community Presbyterian Church by way of Palm Bay, Florida, Hudsonville, MI, and Fort Morgan, Colorado, before returning to ministry in Rochester, Michigan, at the oldest Congregational church in the state. Pastor Greg transitioned into Intentional Interim Ministry leading churches in Farmington and Big Rapids, Michigan, before a unique chance meeting lead him to Shelby Township.
While officiating a memorial service for a prior pastor in Big Rapids, Pastor Greg met a parishioner from St. Thomas. In a Disney-esque, it’s-a-small-world-afterall moment, this one person, whose mother went to high school with Pastor Greg’s father in Big Rapids, mentioned that her Presbyterian Church in Shelby Township had been without a settled pastor for nearly 4 years.
Long story short, Pastor Greg started his ministry time at St. Thomas Community Presbyterian Church in Shelby Township in January of 2023.
St. Thomas remains a vibrant and vital progressive church, its hands in everything you could imagine from helping Friends of Foster Kids (a local non-profit), to partnering in ministry with its sister church, Highland Park United Presbyterian Church, to sending a mission team most recently to South Africa to work with, play with, and pray with children and youth at a group foster/orphanage home just outside of Johannesburg. The community is an all-inclusive family of faith, seeking to building an extravagant welcome in Macomb County, Michigan, and beyond.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Ministry is always challenging. If anyone has any questions, just ask Jesus in the Gospels. Time after time we are witnesses to a narrative than offers both the minister AND the people ministered to exceptional challenges. Take into consideration the social-political climate and you have a hotbed, a powder keg with a fuse in this day and age filled with discontent and tension. Pastor Greg has been in the middle of those tensions, helping to lead people into healthy boundaries, holding others (and himself) accountable for their actions, all in an attempt to bring a little more heaven into the world.
March of 2020 threw all of ministry into chaos – the global pandemic. Practical ministry classes in seminary did not include “Pandemic 101.” It was a contentious time of learning how to live stream, hold Zoom sessions just to keep community together, and a time of extraordinary learning for Pastor Greg.
Pastor Greg deeply appreciates the character and resolve of St. Thomas that, in their nearly 53 years of organized ministry, they have remained focused on serving others. St, Thomas has weathered storms of socio-political discontent to continue to serve the community with love and compassion.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Pastor Greg grew up in a musical family playing the drums and vocalizing with his parents in the church choir back in Grand Rapids. Even after primary education had come to a close, Pastor Greg wandered from drums into guitars, had a short-lived but fun small business with his two older brothers DJing high school dances and wedding receptions, and still enjoys going to live concerts with his fiancée and his daughter around the Detroit Metro region.
Pastor Greg and his good friend, Tuf (pronounced toof), also lead a secular and gospel music sing-a-long in their group: Beer & Hymns Detroit, who’s tag line is, “Drink Responsibly, Sing Recklessly!”
Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
For Pastor Greg, having a mindset of finding ways to create heaven on earth on a daily basis is key to success. While he admits winning the lottery would be nice, smiles, everyday kindness, and putting others before himself leads to a happier life. Robert J. Hastings once wrote in his short essay, The Station, that fear and regret are twin thieves who would rob us of today. That statement, couple with the Psalmists statement to, “this is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it,” makes for a spiritually healthy recipe for helping to bring about wholeness in oneself and others.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.stthomaspres.com/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stthomaspres
