Leadership
Pastors & Laity Leadership
Meet Our Pastors
Godly church leaders are responsible for leading God’s flock by walking personally with God and working together to help church members do the same.
B.A. in General Ministries Advanced Diploma in Biblical Counseling Ordination May 1974 Christian Church/Church of Christ
BA in Bible & Intercultural Studies Ordination 2017 Non-Denominational 2018 American Baptist Churches
Teamwork is Key
The Pastor of Harvard Park Baptist Church is Gary Wayne Sheets. He was called first as an interim pastor and was installed on August 28, 2016. Gary did some undergraduate work at Johnson University in Tennessee and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Bible and General Ministries from Lincoln Christian University in Lincoln, Illinois. He also holds two degrees in Christian Counseling. Gary was ordained as a Minister of the Gospel at West Union Christian Church in 1974 and has served several churches in Central Illinois. His first wife, Pennie McCubben Sheets, passed away in 2013. He has one son, Caleb, a daughter-in-law Christina, and three grandchildren, Melody, Sophia, and Zoey.
Harvard Park Baptist Church also has a Pastor of Spiritual Formation and Community Outreach, Pastor Mary Jean (Richardson) Sheets. Mary Jean holds a Bachelor of Arts in Bible and Intercultural Studies from Lincoln Christian University. She had a business career, ending as a Regional Vice President for H&R Block in 2002, prior to entering the faith-based, non-profit realm.
Prior to her move to Springfield in January 2018, she had served as the Assistant Director of Restoration Urban Ministries in Champaign, IL. Mary Jean was ordained as a Minister of the Gospel by Restoration Church (non-denominational) in August 2017. Her experiences there have prompted adding a Community Center to the Church and expanding services offered on the property. Mary Jean has one son, Joe Streit, daughter-in-law Grace, and four grandchildren, Julia, Jay, Vivian, and Ella.
Gary and Mary Jean met through the Walk to Emmaus in the Fall of 2015 and became friends and colleagues quickly. Beginning in 2017, Gary mentored Mary Jean in completing the Alternative Ministerial Education program of the Great Rivers Region of American Baptist Churches, resulting in her ordination and installation in August 2018. They were married on January 6, 2018.
Laity Leadership
Harvard Park is served by a team of people in five areas of ministry:
Administration
Christian Education
Deacon Ministry
Outreach
Stewardship
Harvard Park Baptist Church Associations
American Baptist Churches
in the Great Rivers Region (ABC-GRR) We are in Area II.
Phone: (217) 726–7366
USPS: P.O. Box 13457 Springfield IL, 62791
HPBC&CC is a part of American Baptist Churches, USA (ABC-USA)
