Gilroy’s Trinity Bible Church (370A Tomkins Court) welcomed a
new senior pastor in June, replacing its founding pastor, the Rev.
Bob Achilles, who had served the church for some 15 years. Achilles
has retired from that position to follow a ministry TBC has long
supported, teaching in a Bible Institute in Russia, training new
ministers to serve the Russians who are just now being introduced
to the Protestant tradition of Christianity. He and his wife
continue to live locally and worship at TBC when not traveling
abroad.
Gilroy’s Trinity Bible Church (370A Tomkins Court) welcomed a new senior pastor in June, replacing its founding pastor, the Rev. Bob Achilles, who had served the church for some 15 years. Achilles has retired from that position to follow a ministry TBC has long supported, teaching in a Bible Institute in Russia, training new ministers to serve the Russians who are just now being introduced to the Protestant tradition of Christianity. He and his wife continue to live locally and worship at TBC when not traveling abroad.
The congregation’s new senior pastor is the Rev. Vaughn Park, a native of Grand Junction, Colo. He attended several colleges before receiving a degree in political science from Colorado’s Mesa State College and was considering pursuing a career in law when he felt God leading him to begin Christian ministry. Instead of law school, he entered Master’s Seminary in Los Angeles, a school that is noted for its “biblically-grounded education focused on teaching the Bible.”
For several years, Park was bi-vocational, joining the business world to run a small chain of bed and mattress stores. He feels he learned a lot during those years about interacting with people, explaining: “I was exposed to all kinds of personality types through customers, employees, and vendors, becoming a better listener and learning to deal with many different problems.”
Pastor Park’s ministerial experience is varied. He has served churches in Palm Springs and Thousand Oaks as a youth pastor and did part-time ministry while in business in Utah, then spent the past two and a half years as senior pastor of a Community church in Huntsville, Utah. This suburb of Salt Lake City has a diverse population (for Utah) because it has both commuters who go to work in
Salt Lake and vacationers who travel to this resort in the winter for skiing. One of the highlights of Park’s ministry in Huntsville was a Bible Conference his church hosted for visitors to the 2000 Olympics.
Trinity Bible Church has a close relationship with Master’s Seminary, and it was the seminary which recommended Park when the church began searching for a new senior pastor. TBC has a heritage of “expository Bible teaching” which Pastor Park intends to continue.
In addition, he hopes to continue building up the congregation’s family ministries: Ladies’ Ministry for women’s fellowship opportunities, Men’s Ministry for Godly home leadership, Children’s Ministry for substituting Bible influences for the negative influences of society. A new Vacation Bible School program was provided for the community this month as a start toward greater community outreach, and the church leadership is currently examining various youth programs to begin offering shortly.
Pastor Park moved to Gilroy with his wife of 12 years, Ronda, and three children, ages eight months to 12 years. The family likes the “beautiful area, great climate, and the charitable, gracious people” who have welcomed them to South County.
Trinity Bible Church’s Sunday schedule is Sunday School for all ages at 9 a.m., Morning Worship at 10:30 a.m., Evening Worship at 6 p.m.; there is also a Prayer Service Wednesday at 7 p.m. For more information call 842-1220 or check the Internet at www.trinitybiblechurch.org.
