Leadership change at Grace Bible Church
Photo courtesy Grace Bible Church Pastor Paul Peabody, right, hands off the senior pastor baton to Mitchell Martin.
Mitchell Martin recently was named senior pastor of Grace Bible Church, 152 W. Prairie Ave. He had been associate pastor.
He replaces longtime senior pastor Paul Peabody, who retired.
“It’s a day we’ve been anticipating for a year,” said Peabody. “Mitchell Martin was called to the church to serve for one year before taking my place here. That way he would already be part of the church family before assuming the leadership.”
The church board voted more than 10 years ago to endorse an overlapping transition from one pastor to another.
It’s the end of a long tenure for Peabody, who arrived in Coeur d’Alene on Jan. 15, 1993, to become pastor at Grace Bible.
Before taking the pastoral role here, he had pastored a small congregation in St. Paul, Neb., for eight years.
Peabody, however, is not leaving the ministry nor the community. After nearly 29 years as lead pastor, he will now step into a supporting role at Grace Bible as pastor of counseling and discipleship.
Martin moved to Coeur d’Alene from Lewisville, Texas, last November. He was a lifelong resident of Lewisville and had served as an associate pastor for eight years at Lakeland Baptist Church in Lewisville.
He is happy to be part of the Coeur d’Alene community and is excited to begin his new role at Grace Bible.
“The people at Grace Bible have been very welcoming to our family. We are glad to be a part of this church and the communities surrounding it,” he said.
Grace Bible is a non-denominational fellowship, which has grown from a weekly attendance of 160 to about 325 during Peabody’s tenure.
The church was formed in 1975 and purchased its current property soon after. The congregation has purchased property on Atlas Road and plans to build a new facility there when funds are raised.