Grace Church History

On January 6, 1982, a weekly Bible study began in the home of Evangelical Free (our denomination) District Superintendent Don Ortlund with seven people in attendance. In April of that year, Rev. Robert Allen from the Hollywood Evangelical Free Church joined the group and became the first pastor of the Grace Evangelical Free Church. The group soon became too large for a home meeting, so the meeting was moved to a funeral home in Gilbert. Meetings were held on Sunday mornings and evenings with an increased attendance of over fifty. A short time later a new location was obtained in a shopping center at Broadway and Stapley Drive in Mesa. Attendance grew to about eighty in that location before the shopping center notified the group that remodeling would make it impossible for the church to meet there any longer.

The group discovered that a radio Bible teaching ministry located at 27 Lyn Rae planned to move to California, and their property was for sale. The property was purchased and remodeled to accommodate a sanctuary seating around 125, nursery facilities, a kitchen, three Sunday school rooms, an office and study.

It wasn’t long until the building reached capacity. Rev. Allen resigned in 1985.  Don Ortlund and Paul Alleman each served six months as interim pastors in 1986. Rev. Paul Forsythe became pastor in 1987. In 1988 a new sanctuary seating 200 was built on the property.

In 1992 Rev. Rob Krise became pastor of Grace Church and served the church for 5 years. In February of 1998, after much prayer and consideration of relocation, the church voted to list the property for sale with the agreement that the property would be taken off the market if it did not sell within a year. In the meantime, Rev. Sam Rotman, a concert pianist who gives concerts in connection with foreign missions a few months each year, agreed to be our pastor.

In February of 1999, barely within the “deadline” of our prayer agreement, the building on Lyn Rae was sold at our asking price ($425,000), and a 3.9-acre lot in a growing neighborhood at 8701 E. Brown Rd. was obtained below market price at approximately $250,000. 

This, together with a loan from the Christian Investors Foundation (an EFC loan institution), enabled us to construct a worship/classroom structure with a parking lot and utility infrastructure necessary for future phases of ministry expansion. The church voted to call our church “Grace Church” when we moved to the new location, although the legal title is “Grace Evangelical Free Church.”  At the time of the purchase of the Brown Rd. property, it was in the desert with only a small group of homes one half mile west of it.  A month later five new housing developments within a mile radius began to pop up around the site. 

For two years facilities were rented in a nearby high school auditorium while we awaited the building process. The first service in the new building was held on January 20, 2002. During that year two services were instituted to satisfy both the older and the newer and younger attendees: a ‘traditional service’ before the Sunday School hour and a ‘contemporary’ one after that hour. The church continued to grow and an office/education building, along with a covered courtyard for fellowship purposes, was constructed and then dedicated on January 16, 2005.

Pastor Rotman continued to serve as senior pastor. Pastoral leadership was expanded in February of 2005 with the calling of Pastor Mark Savidge as associate pastor. As the church and ministries grew, the need for a pastor for youth and children became apparent. In the summer of 2007 Pastor Eric Johnson came to Grace as pastor to the young people and children and their families.  Pastor Rotman retired June 30, 2009.

For the years 2010 and 2011, the church hired Larry Finch as interim Senior Pastor while a search was conducted for a new Senior Pastor and in March 2012, Kurt Ploeger, an ex-NFL player and church planter, accepted the call.  Kurt indicated he would like to include Bob Nieuwendorp, an EFCA church planter, as a volunteer associate pastor. Unfortunately, Pastor Bob passed and went to his eternal reward in March 2015, after a long struggle with cancer.  Associate Pastor Mark Savage and Youth Pastor Eric Johnson moved left Grace Church to other churches during this period.

The church installed Benjamin (Ben) Burdick as the Pastor of Community Life (youth and families) in March 2013.  He graduated from Phoenix Seminary with an MA in Bible studies. He had previously married his wife, Angela, and had been ordained at Scottsdale Bible Church.  Pastor Ben served Grace Church 7 years before he was called in September 2020 to serve as the Senior Pastor at the World Gospel Church in Terre Haute, Indiana.

Bruce Wade replaced Associate Pastor Bob in May 2016 as a part-time associate pastor.

Pastor Kurt Ploeger left in November 2016 to take a church in Minnesota.  John MacKinney was hired as an interim pastor until Pastor Paul Garrison was called to Grace Church in 2018.

Pastor Paul Garrison was hired as the new Senior Pastor in February of 2018. He was faced with leading a congregation through one of our country’s most difficult times – the Covid-19 pandemic. Through Pastor Paul and the leaders of Grace Church, a new way of communicating, via YouTube, was established so that all of us, forced to isolate from each other, could continue to hear the Word of God and celebrate communion.  

Once life began to return to pre-pandemic normality, Pastor Joe Phipps was hired as the Youth and Family Pastor in June 2022. Pastor Joe served the church honorably, preached excellent sermons, and conducted the youth program. He has been activated with the Arizona National Guard 161st Air Refueling Wing as a full-time Chaplain and assumed that duty position on April 1, 2024.  A farewell for the Phipps family was a part of the March 24, 2024, church service where the Elders prayed for him and his family and then enjoyed a farewell celebration in the youth room with church membership. 

Pastor Paul Garrison retired on May 26, 2024, after serving just over six years as Lead Pastor and over 30 years as a Pastor. His wife, Jenney, and daughter, Megan, left for North Carolina, which is to become their retirement home, several months before.  Paul was highly regarded and was an excellent Bible preacher and teacher.  The Elders appreciated the training program that he developed for them.  Paul emphasized that Elders should be more involved in ministry (teaching, preaching, and serving the congregation), and he was an example of this. Consequently, the Elders began to conduct communion services, some preached, others taught, and they made more home visits, while supporting administrative duties in support of the church.  The Elders prayed for Pastor Paul in his final service and celebrated at the congregational farewell.

During Pastor Paul’s and Pastor Phipps’ time here at Grace Church, we celebrated our 40th Anniversary as a church (October 9, 2022). 

Grace Church began a search for God’s provision for pastoral leadership in June of 2024, but we were not without solid biblical teaching during that time. Once again, Interim Senior Pastor Jon MacKinney accepted the call fill the gap during the nationwide search. Pastor MacKinney gave his first sermon on June 9, 2024 after having previously served as interim pastor from February 2017–February 2018. 

Pastor Robert Doleshal and his wife, Donna, interviewed for the position of Senior Pastor in October 2024.  He was called to preach at Sunday services on October 13, 2024.  On 13 October a Congregation Business Meeting was held at 5:30 PM, in which he was nominated and approved to be Senior Pastor.  It was noted during the membership meeting that the Grace Church Search Committee and NL Moore & Associates did an outstanding job finding the right candidate.  Interim Senior Pastor Jon MacKinney continued preaching through December of 2025. 

Pastor Robert Doleshal began his tenure as our Senior Pastor on January 5, 2025. He led communion and preached his first sermon, “Faithful to His Word” the first in a new series called “Coming Back.”  164 people attended the service and the sanctuary was full. A potluck breakfast was served in Fellowship Hall after church service. We wholeheartedly welcome Pastor Robert’s leadership and guidance, eager to see how God works through him to shape Grace Church according to His will.