Our Staff
Garth McGrath was raised in Michigan and received his undergraduate degree from Albion College. He attended Fuller Seminary where he received his MDiv. He was ordained into the Covenant in 1990. Garth began his Covenant career as the youth pastor at Modesto Covenant Church in California. He then served on staff at Thornapple Covenant Church in Grand Rapids, MI, and then as senior pastor of Monadnock Covenant Church in Keene, NH from 1998-2012. He joined the GLC Conference as Superintendent in September 2012. Garth and his wife Nancy have three adult children and make their home in Plymouth, MI. He enjoys surfing, running and rock climbing.
248-821-6956
[email protected]
Alan is the lead Pastor of LifeChurch Southfield. From early years, while attending William Tyndale College he knew his calling was pastoring. However, the journey wasn’t smooth. He spent many years running from his calling before he began living out his purpose. Graduating from Ashland Theological Seminary, Alan and his lovely wife Marcia began the task of planting LifeChurch Southfield, MI (2011), a wonderful journey of loving God’s people and creating an environment where Jesus is made known. Marcia (MBA) is the backbone of LifeChurch. Her impeccable organizational skills and eye for detail have been integral in establishing the ministry. When Alan and Marcia are not serving at LifeChurch, they could be found enjoying good meals and spending time working out at the gym.
248-943-3345
[email protected]
Jody Eidnes has been the Office Administrator of the Great Lakes Conference since June of 2004. As an Air Force child, Jody grew up all over the world. During her freshman year at Michigan Technological University, she met Johannes to whom she has been married since 1983. They have two children, Toby and Kari. Jody and her family love to travel, especially to Norway to see Grandma and Papa in the summer and to Orlando in the winter for fun in the sun at Walt Disney World. It is Jody’s heartfelt desire to help the churches be everything that God has called them to be.
248-595-8098
[email protected]
Kim Carlson joined the GLC team as Finance Officer in 2008. Kim is a lifelong Covenanter, growing up in the Detroit area and attending Faith Covenant Church. He presently lives in Onekama, MI where he attends Faith Covenant Church. He retired from Ford after a 35 year career that included an assignment as Managing Director of Ford Credit Taiwan. Following retirement, Kim has dedicated himself to serving in various faith-based organizations including Love INC of Manistee as Treasurer and CFO of Covenant Community Care Health Clinic in Detroit. Kim spent 8 years serving on the ECC Executive Committee, was Chairman of the ECC Finance Committee, and served on the ECC Pension Board for 6 years. Kim has been blessed with a lifelong partner in his wife Pam and their 4 children have rewarded them with 12 grandchildren. If you want to connect with Kim, simply say “Go Blue” – that will suffice.
Phil is the Assistant Church Planting Director. He is also serving as the Interim Pastor of Messiah Church in Southwest Detroit. He has served in ministry for over thirty five years in a variety of places and positions. He received his ministry and theological training from William Tyndale College in Farmington Hills, Michigan, and Trinity College in Deerfield, Illinois. Phil’s specialty is creating Christian education lessons and ministry training resources. He has created hundreds of learning and training guides on a multitude of topics. Phil also has a great passion for leadership development and church planting coaching. He has participated in training leaders locally, nationally and globally. Phil is married to Cynthia Carr, aka Sunshine.
Peg Wolter joined the staff of the GLC in April 2019. From 2011 to 2019, Peg worked as part of the finance team at Covenant Community Care, a healthcare organization with several clinics throughout the metro-Detroit area. Prior to that, she served as the Church Administrator of Faith Covenant Church in Farmington Hills, MI for 23 years. She has been married to her husband, Dan, since 1974 and they have two grown daughters and three grandchildren. Dan and Peg love to travel; having visited Jamaica, Europe, China, Australia and New Zealand over the years. She loves cooking and reading. Peg is thrilled to be part of this amazing team, serving God and the churches of the GLC.
My name is Janelle Gustafson, but most people call me Jani. I am a lifelong “Covenanter”. I even went to North Park University many moons ago (class of ’89) and received an undergraduate degree in Psychology. I am married to a very talented and entertaining man and we have 3 wonderful children together – they are “grown-ups” now, which is hard for me to believe. My two sons work for The Red Wings and Tigers and my daughter goes to Calvin University in Grand Rapids, MI. I love nature and animals and I especially love taking photographs of the wildlife I encounter on my hikes. I also enjoy working on my photos in Photoshop and using those skills to create print pieces (brochures, business cards, catalogs, posters, postcards, and more).