My Calling and Conversion

It was 1990 and I was seeking God.  I knew there had to be more to life than the empty pursuit of drinking as many beers as I could in a night.  There had been a change in my Mom – not priority shifts, but a deep inner peace shining through.  I believed it was God.  Deep down, I wanted to follow Jesus, not 90% but all the way.  So at an Inner Varsity gathering at Old Dominion University, the speaker told us if we wanted to follow Christ we had to share our faith and the reality of Jesus with others.  Too much for me.  See, my self-esteem was so tied up in what my friends thought of me that evangelism was terrifying.  I left early, tears in my eyes, convicted.  I called out from deep within, “God I want to follow, but I can’t do that, but if you can change me, please do.”  I think God likes that kind of prayer. 

A week later a friend asked me about my faith, so we talked for hours that evening about Jesus and the Scriptures.  I was amazed that God answered my prayer – I was able to share and I even enjoyed it!  I went to my room knelt and thanked God from my heart.  Then it was as if somebody entered into the room, yet the door was closed.  I felt wrapped in the Presence of Love.  Awe, delight, wonder and love.  I don’t know if my eyes were open or closed, but I saw myself speaking at my home church in Vienna, Virginia and a message came to me about: ‘The supreme importance of seeking God.’  I scribbled down the thoughts as they came.  I knew that the wisdom which I wrote down was beyond me.  I was an infant in the things of God.  I lost track of time, but remember crawling into bed exhausted yet filled with joy. 

I shared the experience with my pastor, Al Honaker.  He smiled while telling me that a group from Virginia Wesleyan, including my brother, were going to lead worship at Epiphany UMC, but they didn’t have a speaker.  Al said, “That’s where you fit in.”  I preached over that Christmas and the same peace that I had seen in my Mom was now in me.  Jesus seeking me, hearing my cry, filling me with his love and sending me to tell others; I’ve never been the same.

Greg & Eileen dating around 1990

A Short Biography

Greg was given grace to believe in and receive Jesus the Christ while he was a student at Old Dominion University in 1990.  After graduation from ODU in 1992, he completed a Discipleship Training School in Richmond, VA and the Dominican Republic with Youth with a Mission (YWAM) an international missions organization. Greg & Eileen married shortly afterwards and thought God was calling them to be missionaries.  During a summer away from Asbury Theological Seminary (ATS) they served as missionaries in the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico.  However, God guided in a different way and after graduation from ATS, Greg served as pastor Stokesland Church on the Danville District for three years.  After that Greg was appointed to start a new church in Suffolk.  He served Grace Harbor for eight years, finishing last June.  During the eleven years of pastoral ministry Greg & Eileen hosted small groups in their homes, believing that Jesus’ model of small group ministry was the most effective way to make disciples.  In the Fall of 2010, Greg became an Evangelist within the Virginia Conference of the United Methodist Church.  The role is becoming that of ‘Missionary-Evangelist’ as he works frequently with the Church in Latin America.  In June of 2010, he was appointed as Chaplain to Virginia Wesleyan College, where he served two years in a part time role, but went full time in July of 2012.   God is doing wonderful things among the college students at VWC!  We are seeing the beginnings of an awakening!  Greg and Eileen have been married for 22 years.  They are blessed with three children Josiah 16, Evie 13 and Luke 13.