From the Pastor
I like to think and I like to make other people think. I like to laugh at myself and I like to laugh, period. I like baseball and Broadway plays, warm afternoons and starry nights. I like pizza and Chinese food, even if they’re part of the same meal. I stand in awe of the ocean and am fascinated with God’s creation as a whole. My wife, whose name is Robyn, is my partner, my friend, my love; and our children, Prescott, Caleb, Megan and Isaiah make me laugh, listen and love more than I ever thought such blessings could. I cherish the chill of October and I am filled with a love for music. I know what it is like to embrace Truth, because God, in His mercy, has convinced me that His Word is Truth. I believe that life tastes good, and I believe that in Jesus Christ it was meant to taste good…
Because I grew up in a mobile Navy family with three older brothers and a younger sister, I think I learned at an early age not only to accept change but to expect it. The changes in my life clearly have been the direct result of God’s sovereign rule. Even as I write, God is in the process of conforming me to the image of His Son (Romans 8:29). This sanctifying truth, perhaps more than any other mere piece of information about me, is a description of who I am — a child of grace, a child of promise, a child of God.
I spent most of my early childhood days romping in New York, Connecticut and South Carolina. But the bulk of my developmental years unfolded largely within the borders of the beautiful state of Washington. During my time there I grew very close to my family and became actively involved in the life and membership of the local Christian Reformed Church.
Upon graduating from High school I traveled to Lookout Mountain, Georgia to attend Covenant College. Four years later I left with a double major, countless good memories and many godly friends. I will always smile upon my college years.
During the three years following college, I served as a campus minister and Resident Director with the Coalition for Christian Outreach. Living in the residence hall with the students at Geneva College strengthened and encouraged my gifts of teaching, evangelism and discipleship. As my time at Geneva drew to a close, I began to realize that God was calling me into His service and ministry.
Acting upon this conviction led me to conclude that God was guiding me back to school for further training. His choice for me turned out to be Covenant Theological Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri. Upon the close of my first year there, in 1991, I married Robyn in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Two years later, in the Spring of 1993, I completed my Master of Divinity degree and soon received a call to return to my home church in Kennewick, Washington to serve as the Director of Youth and Young Adult Ministries. In this role the Lord multiplied opportunities for service and graciously produced fruit both in and around me.
In February of 1994 Classis Columbia (CRC) approved my licensure to preach the Word of God, providing me with yet another means for grateful service to our Lord. This is a calling I take most seriously. And, as evidenced in God’s sovereign arrangement of events, in the Spring of 1997 I was called and ordained as Minister of the Word to serve the congregation, known today as Grace United Reformed Church of Kennewick, Washington.
After fourteen years there, in the Spring of 2011, I completed the Doctor of Ministry degree from Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. To this day, in the Name of Jesus Christ, I gladly minister alongside the brothers and sisters at Grace Church. Given God’s providential care and His unending faithfulness, I rejoice and am humbled by His calling and lean on Him continually so that I might indeed, “preach the Word… do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of (my) ministry” (cf. 2 Timothy 4:2-5).
Rev. Dr. Craig P. Davis