Grace Community Christian Church

Meet Our Minister

Jim Dewar, Preaching Guy

Our preaching minister is Jim Dewar.

Born the baby of the family in Wilmington, Delaware, the year the first National Hockey League(NHL) face-mask was used, he grew up on Long Island, New York, with his brother and two sisters. His parents divorced when he was 13, and he finished his teen years living with his dad in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. He began his college career at Allegheny College in Meadville, PA., hoping to become a prosecutor. But God had other plans!

Somewhere in there he discovered the Christian Church and heard about Christ in a way that made sense and was compelling. He was baptized into Christ on April 6, 1979, and ended up at a small Christian college in Bel Air, MD, where he met his wife, Kim, a "preacher's kid" from the Eastern Shore. They married in 1980 and have three grown daughters.

Jim's most recent ministry prior to coming to Maryland was on Prince Edward Island, Canada, where he and his family spent seven wonderful, cold years ministering with a tremendous body of believers. Jim and Kim have been in Frederick since 1996.

Jim's favorite Bible verse changes every week, but 1 Corinthians 6:11 always ranks high on his list:
"And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and in the Spirit of our God." (NASB)

Jim most identifies with the Biblical character David, because he knows what it is to want to serve God with all his heart, yet contend with that part of himself that is drawn to destructive selfishness. One of his favorite books is C.S. Lewis' The Great Divorce, because it paints such a vivid picture of the real world that awaits us.

Influenced by the tales of his home preacher's mission trips to Burma and Thailand, Jim has followed in Chuck Fordyce's footsteps and made two month long journeys to Burma (Myanmar) himself, in 2000 and again in 2002 with his youngest daughter. One of the most politically repressive regimes on earth, he is struck by the peace and contentment of the impoverished believers there, and hopes to return many times over the coming years to teach, encourage, and be encouraged. More than anything else, Jim just wants his life to make a real Kingdom difference.

An off-ice official for three years with the American Hockey League's PEI Senators, Jim enjoys the occasional Caps game, lots of racquetball, and trying to keep his motorcycle on the straight and narrow.