Dear Grace Redeemer Church,
The Session is excited to announce that Karl Stephens has accepted our offer to become GRC’s Director of Worship Ministries. He and his family will be moving to New Jersey over the course of this summer and will officially begin as those details are settled.
This process has been a matter of great prayer for the Session, the Search Team and many of you. Peter conferred with the music leadership team at Redeemer NYC and the position was posted in appropriate publications and seminaries. The Search Team reviewed numerous resumes, dozens of videos and audio recordings and interviewed many potential candidates. This process culminated in Karl and Ginny Stephen’s weekend visit in May. Subsequently, the input from many of you and the Worship Team was added to our considerations. Earlier this month, following further prayer and deliberation, Session determined to offer the position of Director of Worship Ministries which Karl accepted.
We are excited by the way in which the Lord has led us to Karl and Ginny and the way in which he has been working in their lives. Karl has his undergraduate degree in music performance in trumpet and a graduate degree in choral conducting.  (His wife Ginny has undergraduate and graduate degrees in music performance in piano.)  Over the past 20 years, he and Ginny have led worship and ministered in churches in Colorado Springs, Virginia Beach and Tucson. Karl has a passion for the worship of our God and His son Jesus Christ and passion for people. We look forward to the sharing of their lives in our community and the way their experiences will enrich GRC and are grateful for the way in which the Lord has led us in this matter.
Peter, John Chung, or I would be pleased to respond to any questions you may have. God has great plans for GRC, and we are excited to watch them unfold!
On behalf of the Session,
Lee Augsburger
Lee Augsburger and his wife, Sharon, have been members of GRC since 2013. Â He was recently installed and ordained as an elder and served as Chair of the Search Team for the Director of Worship Ministries. Â He has a ridiculous collection of baseball hats, over 100 different ones from around the world, but his favorite is the Chicago Cubs hat, especially after last year’s World Series.