BY MICAELA SHORE, GRACE ATTENDER
Tim Ayers is the Teaching Pastor (see his sermons here) at Grace Church and although that title may be unfamiliar to some, his role probably ends up looking a lot like what people think of when they hear the job description “pastor”. He preaches, teaches the bible, does a lot of weddings and funerals, provides counseling and makes hospital visits.
His ideal workday would begin quietly, with time spent in research that will help guide his role of bringing the theological background to high level decision making at Grace. He also shared that the “The best 3 hours of the week for me are executive team meetings. It doesn’t matter if we’re dealing with something horrific or wonderful… I love that team”. The most life-giving part of his job is to teach without constraints of time. For that reason he enjoys his Tuesday evening class which gives him and class members the chance to “dig a deep well about anything we’re interested in”.
While his ideal workday ends with teaching a class, his ideal non-work day begins by rising early for a long bike ride. Tim has been an avid cyclist for years, and competitive running was also a great highlight for him earlier in life. It may seem he has some hidden athletic talents, but his musical background is compelling as well. He lived in England as a young man, learned to play Irish folk music from a famous guitar player there, and went on to play guitar in a rock band in the 80’s.
The music he continues to play most is traditional Irish folk music, which he enjoys singing & playing with his wife, Jennifer. They have been married for 41 years, treasure a great marriage together and have 3 grown children and 5 grandchildren. To finish out a great restful day after a morning bike ride, Tim would choose to make breakfast with his wife, enjoy a drive to a new town, visit antique shops together, take a walk and finish the day with dinner at a brew pub with good music. All that to say, he may have a traditional “pastor’s” title, but I’d venture to say that Tim isn’t your average pastor. He’s been at Grace since day 1 and continues to be blown away by the work that God is doing here, as well as filled with gratitude for a chance to be a part of it all.
Fun Fact: Robert Redford is Tim Ayers' doppelgänger.