Tom Lance, Pastor Emeritus

I gave my life to Jesus as a child, but was 19 years old when I fully committed my life to Christ.  While playing baseball in Rapid City South Dakota I found myself alone one night and asked God how He saw me; after getting a glimpse of who I really was I told God I was ‘all in’ no matter what.  I went home to finish my last year at the University of California, Riverside with a less than stellar year in baseball so instead of being drafted, I ended up accepting a job at Riverside Community College as the youngest head baseball coach.

It was during my last month at UCR that I met the woman I was going to marry, and a year later we were married.  Our church also invited us to become part-time youth sponsors, and later to become the full-time Children’s and Youth Pastor. As the church grew from a few families to hundreds, I became the Youth Pastor.  In 1987 after 12 years working with children and youth, I became the Executive Pastor for Don Foor after Senior Pastor Gurden Henley passed away. 

In 1994, I became the interim pastor and in May of 1995 I became the senior pastor.  I held that position until February 2020 when I stepped down and began to support the church by working with Small Groups, Lay Ministers, Legacy Giving, and normal pastoral duties.  I am Pastor Emeritus now and help wherever I’m needed.  God has graciously blessed me with a lifetime of service to The Grove Community Church!

Carol and I have electric bikes we enjoy riding and even ride to work some days

I pray that we continue, as we have in the past, to live out Ephesians 3:17-19.

If you’d like to get in contact with me, please call or click below. 951-571-9090 ext. 2110