Today we’d like to introduce you to Gregory Ward.
Hi Gregory, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
In 2009 I moved to Austin with my wife and kids to Austin to enroll in the Ph. D. program at the University of Texas in Semitic languages and Hebrew Bible. After 2 years in the program I had acquired debt, but not a Ph. D. (Don’t try to do a Ph. D. in your 40’s with a family!) I had to take a sabbatical from the program to work in software development and pay off some of those debts. At the end of my sabbatical in 2012, I could not resume school for financial reasons, but we loved it in Austin. At this point I began conversations with Redeemer Presbyterian Church in downtown Austin about starting a site in the Cedar Park area.
In the summer of 2013 I joined the staff of Redeemer and on October 13, 2013 we had our first worship service at the Cedar Park Site of Redeemer Presbyterian Church at Brushy Creek Montessori School. Our little congregation grew very quickly and by the fall of 2015 we had outgrown our first location and moved to the gym of Summit Christian Academy.
In January of 2017 our Cedar Park site became a particular church with the new name of Emmanuel Presbyterian Church.
In 2024 after surviving the trials of the Covid Quarantine, Emmanuel moved locations again to current meeting place at Guidepost Montessori of Brushy Creek at 3017 Polar Lane in Cedar Park. We meet for worship at 10 am on Sundays. You should join us!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
While things started pretty smoothly, they certainly haven’t always been that way! I would say the biggest struggle for us was the Covid Quarantine. It was difficult because we could not worship together in person for a long time. It was difficult because every polarizing thing that really wasn’t about church, became issues in the church: masks, or no masks, vaccines, various political issues, etc. And people being isolated at home with only TV, internet, and social media for information and outlet made things worse, because we couldn’t really interact normally on disagreements. It lead to abnormally inflamed emotions and disagreements, that couldn’t really be dealt with and de-escalated in person. This in turn destroyed relationships and caused a lot of people to leave the church. It was very hard, and it’s taken a long time for the church to recover.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am a Pastor and Church Planter with an academic background in Hebrew Bible. I also spent almost 20 years working in the Bible Software business with a particular emphasis on developing tools for academic research on the Bible in Greek and Hebrew. I’ve studied Hebrew and other ancient languages at Hebrew University in Jerusalem Israel and the University of Texas. While I have never gotten to finish my Ph. D. I probably enjoy teaching and preaching the Old Testament and Biblical Hebrew the most. I guess that would be my specialty.
Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
I love the food and the music. I’m originally from the New Orleans area, and I love to cook. So, having a good food culture and good restaurants is pretty important to me. But, I particularly like that Austin has a food identity with Bar-b-que, Tacos, and Tex-mex being the specialties, while also having diverse international food offerings as well. Of course the same is true for music. I’m not a musician, but I’ve been enjoying live music since I was a kid, and Austin is a great place for that! I’m also an avid cyclist and Austin is a great place to ride a bikes and generally for outdoor sports.
As for what I dislike, well, it’s not very original, but I hate the traffic. We moved here in 2009, and it’s just gotten progressively worse over the years!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.emmanuelcedarpark.church/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EmmanuelCedarPark
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@emmanuelpresbyterianchurch5913
Image Credits
Hristina Georgieva, Gregory Ward II
