Meet Pastor Shane and his wife, Sara!

Pastor Shane was called to Grace Fellowship Church in November 2024. He retired from 23 years in the Iowa National Guard as a helicopter mechanic in 2020 and began pastoral ministry full-time a few months later, serving a congregation in Vinton, Iowa from 2020 to 2024. Pastor Shane received his M.Div. from Northwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in 2021, having worked toward that goal since graduating with a BA in music from the University of Northern Iowa in 2012. His wife, Sara, is a graduate of UNI as well, and has been a teacher and instructional coach for the Waterloo Public School District since 2012.  Pastor Shane and Sara grew up in the area and have two sons and two daughters, all grown. Their oldest, Gabe, lives in Omaha, Nebraska. Their next oldest, Lizzie, lives in Dallas, Texas Their next daughter and son, Cora and Sam, still have an address with dad and mom, but Sam lives in Ames, Iowa during the Iowa State school year. 

He has deep love to see God‘s Word faithfully preached and taught not only from the pulpit, but in every area of life. "My greatest delight as a pastor is to see God ‘s people sanctified in the truth of the Bible, fully embracing the doctrines of the faith as ultimately embodied in Jesus and understanding those truths to be far more than propositional in nature, but pastoral and provisional in the blessed context of a relationship with Christ as Savior and Lord, who Himself is the only way, Truth, and Life. "

"In my free time, you can usually find me reading theology or philosophy, still trying to master the guitar and various other musical instruments or just enjoying the company of friends and family in thoughtful conversation."