This weeks staff journal is highlighted by Jeff Quandt’s Bio. Jeff has been Suggested as a potential Elder candidate and we will hold a vote on April 30th as a church, to decide whether or not to place him as an elder. This bio will be followed by a meet and greet on the 23rd of April after both services, where you will have the opportunity to meet Jeff in person.
Jeff Quandt Bio
I’m a Midwest native by birth, born in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, but didn’t establish roots there because my father was an Air Force officer. Moving from place to place was our way of life until I was twelve years old, and we settled down in Sacramento, California in 1961. Between my hometown and Cow Town (a derisive nickname born in the NBA thanks to Sacramento Kings’ fans’ favorite noise maker - cow bells) we lived in Alaska, Louisiana, Italy, and New York.
Two years after college I had a dramatic encounter with Jesus that set the course of my life in the direction of leadership. God’s plan of making me a leader didn’t necessarily include defined leadership positions such as church or Christian organization rolls, but He repeatedly gave me favor among believers as trustworthy person of influence. As a young Christian I learned the necessity of daily surrender to God and avoiding any ambition that would conflict with a holy lifestyle. I said I learned “the necessity,” but as everyone whose heart desires deep intimacy with God knows, daily surrender requires daily crucifixion of every impulse to grasp for the passing pleasures of sin. So, while the necessity is present, I’m far from a Masters Degree from Selfless Love University.
I have served three congregations as youth pastor, and one congregation as administrator and staff pastor. Somewhere in that mix is a brief venture in church planting. Suffice it to say that I had much to learn about the demands of singlehandedly starting a congregation from scratch while working full time as a framing carpenter. Here, however, I have seen how church planting is supposed to be done: “Not by might, not by power, but by the Spirit of the Lord.”
I’m delighted to say that Cheryl’s and my experience at Grace Community is pure joy as we live in community with people who share a living faith in Jesus and recognize the primacy of the Holy Spirt in every dimension of life. We had no idea when we moved to Kansas in 2020 that God was guiding us to a community that would immediately feel like home.
If you aren’t interested in personal details, you can stop here. Otherwise, you’ll find out that Cheryl and I just celebrated our 46th anniversary April second. We have two children, three grandchildren, three granddogs, two grandcats, one granddonkey, and several grandchickens. Our son, Chris, and his family live in California, and our daughter lives here in Newton with her husband Aaron and five-year-old daughter, Sophia. We also just welcomed Emily, our Compassion child, into our family.
My activities at GCC include a leadership role in Celebrate Recovery, volunteering at New Hope Shelter, participation in Denver and Sarah Sweazy’s wonderful Community Life group, and teaching kindergarten Sunday School. Outside of GCC I lead a Christian seminary program called The Urban Ministry Institute at Hutchison Correctional Facility. Prior to moving to Kansas, I taught the program for seven years in Folsom Prison in California.
Thank you, Grace Community Church, for warmly welcoming us into your home.
- Jeff Quandt