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Jim was raised in a Christian home by parents who both maintained a vital walk with the Lord. At the age of 7, he was led to saving faith in Christ through the preaching ministry of Billy Graham. Lynda also grew up in a very religious home but did not personally trust Christ as Savior until her first year in college when she was introduced to the Lord by her roommate. For Jim, music has always been an important part of his life. He began piano lessons at the age of 5, and by the age of 12, he had begun playing professionally as a church organist. He attended Princeton University where he majored in European History. While in college, he become vitally involved in the ministry of the Princeton Evangelical Fellowship and grew spiritually under the teaching of Dr. Donald B. Fullerton. By the end of his first year there, he knew God had called him into some kind of full time service. After graduating from Princeton in 1970, he attended Dallas Theological Seminary where he received his Masters in Theology in 1974. During his seminary years, he served both at Dallas Bible College and at Scofield Memorial Church in music ministry. Also in 1974, he married Lynda whom he had first met in Italy while serving as a summer missionary. Lynda had attended Wilson College where she graduated in 1970 with a BA in Art History. She held the position of Senior Cataloguer in the Department of Art and Archaeology at Princeton University from 1970 to 1974. In 1976, Jim and Lynda attended the candidate school of UFM International (now CrossWorld) with the intention of returning to Italy as missionaries. However, when he was offered a faculty position at Dallas Theological Seminary, they decided to stay on in the USA. While at Dallas he taught music and worship and homiletics and directed the Seminary's Men's Chorus. They remained in this capacity for the next 6 years. By 1981, Jim & Lynda were convinced that the Lord was leading them into full time pastoral ministry. In 1982, when the opportunity to pastor at The Blue Church opened up, they left Dallas to take on the challenge of ministering in suburban Philadelphia where they remained for 17 years. In 1997, through their association with CrossWorld, they became aware of Milan Bible Church's need for a full time pastor. Because of their ongoing interest in international ministry overseas, they agreed to consider the possibility of serving at MBC. By 1999, they had resigned from the Blue Church, raised their prayer and financial support, and had left for Italy. After six months of language study in Florence, they moved to Milan to take up the work of full time ministry at MBC as CrossWorld missionaries. They have been ministering at Milan Bible Church ever since. Just this past fall, they celebrated the 10th anniversary of their coming to serve in Italy. Jim and Lynda have three married children living in the USA along with 4 grandchildren. |
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