Presbyterian Church of New Jersey

Leadership

About our Leaders

 

Robert Forehand

Born in FL in 1967.   Father was in Apparel Sales so we moved quite a few times during childhood -- including multiple cities in Florida, Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee, Colorado, Arkansas and Texas !    Heart belongs to Texas though!
 
Grandfather was minister to small Baptist church and my Father was music minister in his spare time so spent quite a lot of time growing up in/around church.  However, grew away from church when living on my own and going to college.
 
Even though I went against God and all his desires, he still called me back after I went in the wrong direction .  That is why I am here and back to serving his ministries.  Like everyone else, I realized I have sinned and really don't deserve his love or all his gifts but I have no excuses and realized that our Father in heaven never lets us down.  What's that phrase ?  "God does not call the qualified . He qualifies the called."      
 
So, tell me.  When were you last called ?  Did you "pick up" ?    He's still there... just reach out.

Scott Park

I grew up in the great state of TEXAS.  Church was always a priority for me (mainly because of my mom) but not always God.  When I went to Baylor University in Waco, TX and eventually Rutgers in NJ I really struggled with my faith.  For many years, I was part of the 'Silent Exodus' that is plaguing many Christians these days.  Luckily I was invited by a friend to check out PCNJ and decided to continue coming.  Initially, I feel that I was just going through the motions (just go to church and going home without putting myself out there or making myself vulernable to God) which can eventually put you in a spiritual slump so I started praying to God on how I can become closer to Him.  Months later a fellow church member asked me if I would like to attend a mission trip to a Native American reservation.  My first inclination was to just ignore or to immediately say that I was busy but started thinking.  Maybe this is the opportunity that I have been looking for?  Then I realized that God has always been telling me about these types of opportunities but I was just too stubborn and closed-minded to hear.  After coming back from the mission trip more opportunities to become more involved in church were made available to me by God and I feel that through this I have been receiving the blessings that He has always wanted to share with me.  God wants to share this blessing with everybody so I would encourage all to not forget about the power of prayer and also to truly listen to God because He speaks to us everyday.
 
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight."

(Proverbs 3:5-6)    

Jane Shin

Having grown up in a Christian home, Jesus being my Lord and Savior was never a question.  There were, however,  many times throughout my life when I wondered, ‘After everything that I’ve done or been through, does God still love me?  Could He still love me?’  I was definitely caught up in the cycle of living my life as I wanted and trying to make changes for the better, only to end up feeling defeated and empty again.  I started attending PCNJ-EM during my freshman year (1997) at Rutgers, but it wasn't until my senior year that I began thinking of it as my "home" church.  And yet still, it took another few years out of school for me to really understand the concept of grace – that it’s only by His grace that I am forgiven and that I am“still and always” loved.
 
I currently reside in Englewood, NJ with my husband and our two cats, Luna (a black, mixed breed that I found hiding in some rocks when she was abandoned at 6 wks old by her mama) and Roxie (a white Persian - think Fancy Feast commercials, but without all the "fancy").  We are all homebodies who love to eat!
 
Through the years, God has opened my eyes to see that this world really isn’t about living for myself or what makes me comfortable, but that it’s about His Kingdom advance.  And I definitely want to be a part of that as a participant, and not just a spectator – whether it’s in showing patience or compassion in the workplace, praying for the salvation of those I love, or serving the body of Christ.  He’s changed my perspective to see that it really isn’t about me, and though I fumble with this sometimes, I’ve truly come to know that in everything, it’s always about Him.