LEAD PASTOR
Pastor Meyer accepted Christ as his Savior when he was a 17-year-old senior in High School. The Lord immediately gave him a hunger to read the Bible and to see other people come to faith in Jesus. He never dreamed he would end up being a pastor. Instead, he was accepted into veterinary school and later, medical school before he was called into the ministry. He left all that behind and went to seminary in the Chicago area. 18 months later he was planting a new church in Sauk City, Wisconsin while a full-time student in seminary. Since that time, he has planted 3 more churches, turned around 2 declining churches, consulted over 30 churches, and managed to complete getting a doctorate. He has a deep passion for seeing churches thrive by reaching people who don’t know Jesus and training all of us to be fully devoted warriors for Jesus.
WORSHIP PASTOR
Kelvin Gillett grew up as a PK (preacher’s kid) in Nebraska, Nevada, Colorado, Kansas and South Dakota. He is surrounded at home by females: wife of 22+ years Leah, 17-year-old Hayley, 15-year-old Macy, and 13-year-old Avery. Even all their dogs have been female until they added Apollo, a male Labradoodle to go along with Aspen, a female Goldendoodle. Kelvin has sung on stage with Barry Manilow! Kelvin trusted Jesus to save him both on earth and forever when he was 9 years old. Surprisingly(!), life hasn’t all been smooth since then! “Between my own failures and the disappointments of life, not everything has been rosy, but my desire is to increasingly trust Him for His provision every day. I’m proud to be a work in progress.”
ASSOCIATE PASTOR
The Lord gave Christopher a heart for ministry when he was in 6th grade while growing up in Texas. But the road to ministry wasn’t a straight path; God has a sense of humor. After planning for ten years on going straight to seminary after graduating with a degree in business, God led Christopher into a life of corporate and third-party recruiting. However, the time in the marketplace gave Christopher a better understanding of how messy and challenging life can be and how much hope and peace God offers his children. Outside of church, recruiting, and seminary studies, Christopher enjoys taking pitbull mix named Zoe to dog parks and hiking. He also enjoys cooking, running and became interested in rodeos last summer. Christopher is excited about what God is doing at Pine Valley and hopes it will be a haven of hope for Elbert County, where people will experience a life-changing encounter with Jesus.
HOSPITALITY DIRECTORS
Gary and Gilda have been married for almost 15 years. They met in California and God guided them here to Elizabeth in 2020, where they met Pastor Bob and Melanie, and immediately became helpers in our new church. Gilda and Gary have four grown children and four grandkids. All the grown children are in Colorado except one still in California,….for now. The Lord guided them into the church in California later in their lives and have continued their path with Jesus into their new forever-home in Elizabeth. Gary and Gilda spent 30 and 15 years respectively in the aerospace industry and both have experience in the Life Science industries too, where Gilda is still engaged. Their collective goals are to bring all their family and new community closer to God by showing by example our love for Jesus.
CHILDREN’S DIRECTOR
Melanie enjoyed a 30-year career as a Christian educator, including 3 years as a homeschool mom…and has a heart for them. Her witty 95-year-old Mom lives with her and Bob and, by her example, is teaching Melanie about growing older with grace and humor. Melanie would prefer a cockapoo, but recently settled for two hilarious parakeets, “Screech and Song”, and loves listening to …one of them. She’s looking forward to the day that Pine Valley Church has a thriving, powerful Youth and Children’s ministry. “We want to train our youth to faithfully and joyfully obey Jesus, and to successfully navigate the culture around them. It’s important to give kids a place to build relationships and have fun, but not just to entertain them. It’s critical for us to very intentionally prepare all ages for success in life. Our culture needs strong ambassadors for Christ.” If she has free time, she likes to oil paint, garden, or somehow create beauty.
CHURCH ADMINISTRATOR
Grant and his wife Patti, married more than 50 years, have lived and ranched in Elbert County for over 25 years. They have two grown children and two well-loved grandchildren. Grant has an eclectic background, including being a business executive located in three countries in the international petroleum industry. He was a Chief Operating Officer for a publicly traded firm and Chief Executive Officer for two private companies funded by a Wall Street investment bank. Grant’s dedication to the church and the above noted career experiences along with a BSc in Petroleum Engineering and MBA business degree provide background and knowledge that will assist in review and analysis of Pine Valley Church operations and financial planning. “As Church Administrator, I hope to contribute to the continued growth of our Church fellowship!”