Covenant Reformed Church at Grass
Valley
Conference Speakers
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Tom was born in Philadelphia in 1935 to Earl and Thelma Tyson. When he was five, they became members of Calvary Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Willow Grove, Pennsylvania. Graduating from Wheaton College in 1956 and Westminster Seminary in 1960, he began immediately his service as a minister of the Gospel as pastor of Wayside OPC in Grove City, Pennsylvania (now Covenant OPC). After serving two successive congregations of the Reformed Churches of New Zealand, he was pastor of Trinity OPC, Hatboro, Pennsylvania and Knox OPC in Silver Spring, Maryland, each for nine years. From 1989 to 2000 he served as General Secretary of the Committee on Christian Education of the OPC and editor of the denominational magazine, New Horizons in the OPC. On Sept. 1, 2000 Tom was installed as Regional Home Missionary of the Presbytery of Philadelphia, with responsibility to aid in the establishment of new churches in Eastern Pennsylvania and in the state of Delaware. His wife, Jean and Natalie, the youngest of their six children, are members of Gwynedd Valley Orthodox Presbyterian Church. Natalie currently is a second year student at Geneva College in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania. Tom and Jean also enjoy the fellowship of sixteen grandchildren. Reflecting his wider interests, Tyson serves on the General Assembly's Committee on Ecumenicity and Interchurch Relations, as well as the Committee on Christian Education (and its sub-committee on Ministerial Training) and was a delegate to the Reformed Ecumenical Synod which met in Harare, Zimbabwe in June 1988. In 1995 he represented the OPC at the Synod of the Reformed Churches of New Zealand. He was a member of the General Assembly Committee on Home Missions for several years and served as president of the board of the Center for Urban Theological Studies in Philadelphia. In addition to his home missionary responsibilities, he serves as Director of the Ministerial Training Institute of the OPC. He also participates in leadership conferences around the country and gives seminars on such subjects as Catechetical Instruction, and Music and the Christian Life. Throughout, his first commitment remains the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ .
Pastor Roe is the pastor of Covenant Reformed Church at Grass Valley. This year marks his twenty-first year in the ministry. He is a decorated Army veteran of the Viet Nam war, twice receiving the Silver Star for gallantry in action. Upon leaving the Army, he attended John Wesley College and Reformed Episcopal Seminary, receiving his Master of Divinity degree in 1979. In 1982 he accepted a call to pioneer a church in Carbondale, Pennsylvania where he labored until coming to Grass Valley in July of 1995. The congregation in Grass Valley was organized under Pastor Roe’s leadership as a member congregation in the Reformed Church in the United States in the spring of 2000. Pastor Roe is also involved in the work of foreign missions, serving as General Secretary for Westminster Biblical Missions. He oversees mission works in Hungary, Mexico, Pakistan and South Korea. As well, Pastor Roe serves the 25th Infantry Division Association as its chaplain. He and his wife Julie have been married twenty three years and have four children.
The Rev. Jim West has pastored Covenant Reformed Church at Sacramento, California since September of 1986. He is a graduate of Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, graduating in the class of 1972, where he received his Master of Divinity degree. He was ordained to the Gospel ministry in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church in 1973, where he served until he was received into the Reformed Church in the United States in 1983. He has pastored churches in Rockville, Maryland, San Jose, California, Shafter, California, and in Sacramento, California. Jim and his wife Elaine were married in 1971. They have three children, all who (by God’s grace) are walking in the fear of the Lord. Pastor West is the author of six books: Christian Courtship Versus Dating, The Art of Choosing Your Love, The Covenant Baptism of Infants, the Baptism of Infants in the Old and New Covenants, Drinking with Calvin and Luther!, and The Glorious Foundation of Christ. He has authored articles in the Reformed Herald, Westminster Theological Review, The Banner of Truth Trust, The Journal of Christian Reconstruction, Christianity and Civilization, and The Chalcedon Report. His ministry emphasizes expository preaching. He also disciples the covenant youth of the church by means of Scripture memorization and instruction from the Heidelberg Catechism of 1562. In the fall of 2000, Rev. West began a new roll in his service to Christ as Associate Professor at City Seminary, Sacramento, California. His first course was on Prologomena (which deals with the doctrine of Scripture). |
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