Hello. I would love to chat with you someday over a cup of coffee, but until then, let me tell you a little about myself to get the conversation started.

I grew up in western Pennsylvania in a pastor’s home as the youngest of four children. I accepted God’s invitation to work in full-time pastoral ministry at the age of 22. To train for this calling, I attended Moody Bible Institute in Chicago and Dallas Theological Seminary.

Throughout the years, I have been blessed to meet some great people while working at different places of ministry from Louisiana to Pennsylvania, Illinois, Texas, and now New Jersey.

The ministry emphasis God has given me is gospel-centered and grace-focused. I want people to know that God loves them beyond measure and that our only hope in this life and for the next is to place our trust in the resurrected Jesus.

God has blessed me with an amazing family. My wife Deborah and I met when we were 18 and got married at 21. We have four boys – Titus, Garrett, Landon, and Ethan. One of of the most important members of our family is our fearless garbage-lovin’ GoldenDoodle, Winston.

I love any Pittsburgh sports teams and will probably spend way too much time talking with you about them. I enjoy in-depth conversations, playing sports, working with wood, and spending time in God’s creation.

My favorite TV show has always been Seinfeld. My favorite books beside the Bible are Les Miserable by Victor Hugo and anything by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, especially Crime and Punishment. A new convicting favorite is Just Mercy by Bryan Stephenson. My favorite movie has to be The Rookie as it was the last movie I watched with my father before he died.

I’d like to invite you to join us at FCCC in an ongoing conversation we are having with our Creator. We formally meet on Sunday mornings at 10:30 am, but we also meet in Christian community throughout the week. Come live life with us.

Give me a call. I’d love to meet you.

In His Grace,

Rev. Layne A Mershimer

lmershimer@fccofchester.org

908-879-5322

Read more about Pastor Layne from an October 2015 article in the Observer Tribune.