Graham Emmanuel Baptist Church was a church plant that started in 1981 in what was a rural community in Pierce County. The Lord has been gracious during the last 40 years of ministry at GEBC and has allowed the church to be a light for the gospel of Jesus Christ in the ever-growing Graham community. We will continue to seek to honor the Lord in our worship of Him through our very lives, in the deepening fellowship as a body of believers and in our mission to reach our neighbors and the world with the message that Jesus can save us from our sins. We are asking Him to empower us and guide us into the future as He continues the work He started at GEBC.
Graham Emmanuel Baptist Church is a carefully planned strategic extension effort by the Columbia Baptist Conference and Bethany Baptist Church in Puyallup to win the lost and build up the believer in Southeast Pierce County. The house and ten acres where the church is now built were purchased by Columbia Baptist Conference on December 21, 1979.
A “pilot” Bible study started on Wednesday nights in the spring of 1980 with Pastor Carl Linden from Jovita Baptist Church leading the 7 people who attended.
On Wednesday, August 19, 1981, Denny Fredrick held the first regular Bible study. The attendance was 12. On January 3, 1982, he led the first Sunday School and Church Service with 25 in attendance. On November 1st, Denny Frederick accepted the call as Graham Emmanuel’s first pastor.
In January of 1983, the church met regularly in the house for worship and Sunday School classes. Membership was 32 with an average Sunday worship attendance of 55. March 27th marked the last Sunday worship service held in the house. (The house has since been removed) On April 3rd, Easter Sunday, the first services in the new church took place (which is now called the chapel).
Pastor Frederick felt the call to start a church in Gig Harbor. So, on September 23, 1984, Pastor Bill Turner led his first service as our second pastor. Pastor Turner served the church until June of 1989. During June and July, the pulpit was filled with guest speakers.
From August 1989 through February 1991, Pastor Bill Maclean filled the pulpit, traveling down each Sunday from Marysville to preach. The attendance averaged 35 for Sunday worship.
On January 13th and 20th, 1991 Jim Tiefenthaler preached at Graham Emmanuel as a candidate for the Pastorate. On Sunday, January 20th, the membership voted to call him to be the new pastor and he accepted. Pastor Jim and his wife Virginia began serving on March 1, 1991.
October 6, 1991, saw the beginning of the Children’s Church Ministry. Children ages 3 through 3rd grade met for worship and instruction in the Sunday School house during the worship service, allowing the church to grow.
On September 16, 1992, we started an AWANA program to reach boys and girls with the gospel of Christ and train them to serve Him.
On July 1, 1996, Jay Schilling, and his wife Vicki joined our congregation as our Youth/Music Pastor. Jay developed programs for our youth ministry as well as leading our worship teams and seasonal choir.
Neil Fisher assumed duties as our Associate Pastor on September 1, 1996. He helped lead in many needed areas of the church. Pastor Neil retired from Graham Emmanuel in June of 2003.
In following God’s direction to expand our facilities, we moved into our new 12,000 square foot multi-purpose building in September of 1996, giving us much-needed room for our growing congregation as well as our expanding the AWANA and Sunday School Ministries.
In November 1996, Fellowship Care Groups were started as a means to provide fellowship and instruction in a smaller more personal setting. Home groups were established and have continued since.
January 1997, a bi-monthly newsletter was started, it was named “The Grapevine” which has since been discontinued.
In March 1997, to greet new visitors to our Church, a visitor reception (now called the Welcome Center) was started and meets in the lobby after the services. We still encourage our visitors to stop by after the service to gather information and ask questions about GEBC. In October of the same year, the Sports and Recreation Outreach Ministry was started with the goal of reaching the unsaved in our community through participation in sporting events and teams. We have had softball & volleyball leagues, golf and tennis tournaments. Along the way, we started having Father & Son fishing trips and the most recently, the annual Men’s River Fishing Trip in October led by Pastor Jim.
In the summer of 1998, the chapel was completely renovated, with folding walls added to allow for flexibility in meeting our needs for more classroom space.
In July 1998, Pastor Jay led the first GEBC Serve Mission team of 8 students and 2 adults to Tijuana, Mexico to serve the Mexican people by building houses and sharing the gospel through children’s ministry. In subsequent years of 2001 and 2004, he led Serve teams of high school students to minister to the Mexican people in Tijuana.
In the fall of 1998, we started a Bible study called Precepts, which is an in-depth style of study of different books of the Bible which includes personal study, group discussion and then a video teaching on the lesson. The study has continued since then and has expanded to three different classes per week; Monday night, Tuesday morning and Tuesday night.
On November 1, 1998, we started two identical services at 9:00 & 10:30 am. With the addition of two services, we are able to reach more people with the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Following God’s leading, we added on to the main building in 1999. The new addition gave us six new classrooms plus a much-needed designated Youth room. The first meetings were held in the classroom in January of 2000.
On July 16, 2000, Russel Olson, with his wife Rachel, accepted the call to join our congregation as Pastor of Music & Outreach. He led our worship music and together they started the Easter Eggspedition in 2002. With the addition of the new music pastor, Pastor Jay focused his attention on Youth & Family.
In September of 2003, GEBC began its first Preschool classes under the direction of Cindy Staton. The idea behind the Preschool was to offer our community a wholesome and fun place for their children while at the same time introducing them to the church. The program has expanded since then to include AM & PM classes and in 2012 we opened a Kindergarten class first taught by Andi Schafer.
In October of 2003, after attending a Promise Keepers event in Seattle, several men started the Men’s Ministry be scheduling the Men’s Breakfast event which meets the 2nd Saturday of every month. This ministry has given Men at GEBC the opportunity to be encouraged to grow in their walk with the Lord Jesus and lead their family’s well. It also led to the formation of some accountability groups and later a Men’s Bible study on Wednesday nights.
In September of 2003, the website for GEBC launched www.GrahamEmmanuel.org.
In July 2004, Russel Olson resigned from GEBC. As a result, in early August 2004, the church board asked Pastor Jay to pray and consider switching from Youth & Family Pastor to become the Worship Pastor, which he accepted. Consequently, in September 2004, the search began for a full-time Youth Pastor.
Also in 2004, we adopted the purpose statement for our church “To Know Christ and Make Him Known.”
In March of 2006, Gaven Marble with his wife Megan answered the call to join the church as Youth Pastor. He led the 2007 Serve mission team to serve in Tijuana. He later resigned as Youth Pastor in January of 2008.
In the fall of 2005, we started a M.O.P.S. (Mothers of Preschoolers) ministry as an effective outreach for young mothers in our community. This ministry lasted 8 years and concluded in 2013.
Graham Jam had its beginnings in 2007 as a way to reach our community for Christ. This annual event has been held at Frontier Park in Graham and is marketed as “Free Family Fun” with the main goal to bless our community. The event has grown to include a Kidzone, inflatables and a stage for live music with the largest attendance being over 2,000 people.
Two years later in 2009, we expanded the Graham Jam weekend to include Church in the Park on Sunday morning. This outdoor service has given our church the opportunity to worship the Lord in an open-air setting. (2019 was the last Graham Jam event.)
In August of 2008, the Lord guided the leadership to hire an Associate Pastor from within, as Meredith Ayling was called to be a part-time associate pastor. In this role. he will oversee the Care Ministry and many other aspects of the ministry here at Graham Emmanuel. Meredith’s wife, Tina, was the Church Secretary from January of 2004 to May 2019.
In 2008, we began offering two Christmas Eve services and in 2009 we expanded our Easter Sunday services to 3 service times. Currently, on Easter Sunday, we offer two services at the regular times of 9:00 & 10:30 AM and have added a Live-Stream Room with a live video and audio feed of main services to accommodate more people on this special day.
In January of 2009, Jon Wimmer was called to be our Youth Pastor and led our middle school, high school and college-age/ young adult ministries. He led Serve mission teams to Tijuana in 2010, 2013, 2016 & 2019. Jon resigned from his position in January 2023.
In 2010, the Lord led the church to expand its facilities with the building of a Youth Center. This extra space has provided much-needed space to minister to the middle school and high school students at Graham Emmanuel.
This facility was a huge benefit when our church hosted the conference Fall Student Rally in 2013 with youth groups attending from over 2 dozen different churches from the Pacific Northwest. The conference theme was entitled “RISE” and was centered on the Bible verse from Isaiah 60:1. Approximately 330 students and leaders attended and stayed at 60 host homes for the weekend.
Our growing commitment to missions led us to send two separate teams to the city of Cebu in the Philippines in 2009 and then again in 2011. On these trips, the teams assisted missionaries that were connected to our church in serving an orphanage and reaching out to the communities in that area with the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Also in 2011, after 20 years of faithful service, the church offered Pastor Jim the opportunity to take a three-month sabbatical. Pastor Jim took a sabbatical from July – October. The church did the same for Pastor Jay in 2016 after serving 20 years and took his sabbatical from June – September.
In the fall of 2012, a new ministry called “The Friendship Ministry” was launched reaching people with intellectual disabilities. They typically have their meetings on Tuesday nights with various activities to stimulate learning. This unique group of individuals has continued to grow and is being taught the gospel of Jesus Christ in a way they can learn and understand. In the fall of 2018, this group began meeting on Sunday mornings as well.
In the summers of 2013 & 2014, major improvements to the church building and grounds included a new roof (2013) and the paving of a road from the back parking lot to the front on the west side of the building (2014). The main parking lot was also resurfaced, stripped and sealed.
In early 2016, the church board started praying and brainstorming about ways to reduce the debt on our facilities. By a unanimous church vote in December 2016, the Debt Elimination Fund was opened and a focused effort was begun. In January 2016 the church’s debt was at $1,131,494.00. Individuals are encouraged to pray about giving over and above to the Debt Elimination Fund to help accomplish a debt-free church. In November of 2021, the debt was completely paid off and we give all thanks and praise to the LORD!
In 2017, our AWANA program took a year off to evaluate the state of our mid-week children’s ministry. After much prayer and discussion, the AWANA program restarted in the fall of 2018 with an updated format but with the same emphasis of teaching children about Jesus through the memorization of God’s Word.
From 2011 to 2018, the Renewed Women ministry encouraged women to follow Christ and live for Him. This group met monthly as a large group while also maintained table groups for closer fellowship and accountability.
In 2017, the church board took a time to evaluate, discuss and pray about updating the church Constitution and Bylaws, which were in need of an update. After approx. 24 months the church board brought the updated documents for approval and in January 2020, the revision was accepted by the church. The process also brought about a change in the church’s purpose and mission statement, which are now as follows:.
Purpose Statement: Graham Emmanuel Baptist Church exists to glorify God by knowing and loving Him, loving others and reaching the world by making disciples who make disciples.
Mission Statement: To lives lives under the authority of God’s Word, characterized by the worship of God, community in the body and mission to the lost.
We also developed a new logo for the church. (See logo above)
In January of 2019, we launched the GEBC App. In an effort to modernize our ministry efforts and better connect with those who call GEBC their home church. The app features sermons, journal entries, prayer requests and simplified ways to connect to the activities of the church. It also acts as an easy way to get messages quickly and efficiently to the congregation. The app is now hosted by Church Center at the following link: (https://apps.apple.com/us/app/church-center-app/id1357742931)
In March of 2020, the leadership made the decision to cancel in-person services as a precaution in light of the rising Covid pandemic. The church held online services for 16 Sundays during that time. Then on Sunday, July 16, 2021, we began hosting one service outside in our front parking lot. We called it “Church in the Parking Lot!” This was a good compromise as some people sat close to the makeshift stage in camping chairs, while others remained in their cars during the services, tuning into the AM radio broadcast that we broadcasted with during that time. Then on Sunday, September 13th, we restarted normal worship celebration services in the building with social distancing most apparent in our seating format. It was wonderful to be meeting together again back inside our building.
On August 29, 2021 Pastor Jim announced that he would be retiring at the end of the year after over 30 years of faithful service at GEBC. His last Sunday was December 26, 2021, where he finished the sermon series on the book of Philippians. The leadership quickly formed a Sr. Pastor Search Committee in the fall of 2021 and prayerfully worked through the process of seeking the Lord for a new Sr. Pastor.
During that interim time, the church called Todd Morrison to serve as the interim Sunday speaker. Following his time, the Lord blessed the church with the pulpit ministry of Dave Parsons, who exposited Paul’s letter to the Ephesians during the church’s senior pastor search process.
On December 11th, 2023, the congregation called Stephen Angliss to be the next Senior Pastor at Graham Emmanuel Baptist Church from Bayview, Idaho. Pastor Stephen previously attended and served at GEBC with his wife, Kimberlee Angliss (née Dorfner), who grew up at the church. Pastor Stephen’s first Sunday at Graham Emmanuel Baptist Church occurred on January 8th, on which the elders also announced the resignation of youth pastor Jon Wimmer.
During that first year, the church returned to many ministries that were paused during COVID-19, and a youth pastor search committee was commissioned in April 2023 to find the next youth pastor for GEBC. On February 11th, 2024, the congregation called John Davenport to be the next pastor of youth and young adult ministries from Northern Virginia. The congregation is blessed to have the Davenports as part of its church Body.
On July 1st, 2024, Pastor Jay Schilling stepped down from his post as worship pastor at Graham Emmanuel Baptist Church after exactly twenty-eight years of faithful service which included a season as the youth pastor, pastor over outreach events, and countless other examples of faithful ministry. God used Pastor Jay and the Schilling family crucially for almost three decades to lead people in spiritual worship and to disciple people with God’s Word. The church will always be friends of the Schilling family and remain thankful for them as they pursue a new season and career post-church ministry.
In the words of King Solomon, “For everything there is a season” (Ecc. 3:1). Times change, and God uses different people in different seasons, but all for the same purpose: to glorify Gid by making disciples. The world changes, but the Word of the Lord remains.
“Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look at the earth beneath; for the heavens vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment, and they who dwell in it will die in like manner; but my salvation will be forever, and my righteousness will never be dismayed.” Isaiah 51:6
Last updated July 4, 2024