Onekawa Bible Church Elders Serving God and the church as an elder is an incredible honour. Each elder at OBC must meet the biblical qualifications outlined in 1 Timothy 3:1-7, Titus 1:5-9 and 1 Peter 5:1-4. An elder is sometimes referred to as a pastor or an overseer or a shepherd.  His role is to feed the spiritual sheep with the Word of God and to protect them from false teachers and teachings. Elders are also to guard the 'souls' of the saints (Hebrews 13:17) as they will have to give an account to God for their leadership in this area. Their leadership is to model that of Jesus Christ who is the ultimate Head of the church.   Phil Henderson  Phil was born in Warkworth and lived in Marton, Palmerston North and Los Angeles before arriving here in the Hawkes Bay in 1999.   He began his working career with Telecom as a Telephone Technician before heading to Los Angeles to complete a Master of Divinity (M. Div) degree at The Master's Seminary.  Phil served as the Youth Pastor at Riverbend Bible Church for several years before being called to pastor Onekawa Bible Church. In 2015, Phil completed a Doctorate of Ministries (in Expository Preaching) and is now affectionately known as "Dr Phil".  Phil is married to Natalie and they have 3 great kids, Jacob, Jessie, and Daniel.  Phil has enjoyed playing soccer for various clubs since he was young but has finally hung up his boots.  He is an avid Liverpool supporter but welcomes fans of any football team to join the church!  These days, you can find him having a coffee with Natalie, hitting a tennis ball with the family or on the sidelines supporting his kids.     Fred Barton Fred and his wife Irene were born and spent many years in England, coming to NZ in 1975 with their young family, twin daughters and a son.  They settled in Napier and apart from their first Sunday in the country and their subsequent periods overseas, they have called OBC their spiritual home.   Their three children all married New Zealanders and have families of their own, each having a son and a daughter, thus giving Fred and Irene six grandchildren.   Until 2001 Fred worked as a Quantity Surveyor in Napier and during that time he and Irene had two extended periods (a total of 4½ years) in the Solomon Islands where Fred set up an office for his NZ employer.   In the early 1990’s Fred felt a call to embark on full-time theological study and so in 1994 he and Irene moved from the Solomons to Dallas, Texas where they enrolled at Dallas Theological Seminary.  They graduated in 1996, Fred with a MA degree in Biblical Studies and Irene with a Certificate of Graduate Studies.  On returning to NZ they both began to get involved with the Bible College of NZ (now Laidlaw College) in Hawkes Bay and Fred finally abandoned his QS work and became Dean of Studies at the HB Centre of BCNZ in January 2001.   In February 2009 Irene was diagnosed with cancer and she went home to be with her Lord in May 2010.  Since then Fred has continued to remain active as he pursues, with varying degrees of success, his enjoyment of golf, genealogy and gardening.  Fred preaches occasionally at OBC and also at a number of other churches in Napier and Hastings.   James Glanville James Glanville is married to Megan and they have three adult children, Calvin, Thabo, and Kelly who was recently married to Daniel Verrent. James serves as the Pastoral Care Coordinator at the Hastings Hospice three days per week and is also employed for 12 hours each week at OBC serving in Counselling and Pastoral Care. James has had a lifetime of experience counselling and helping God’s people. He obtained an MA (Theology) and a Ph. D (Practical Theology) from the University of Pretoria. Most of his ministry experience has been in South Africa and we are now very blessed that God providentially moved his family to fellowship with us here at OBC.    Gary Smith Gary Smith is married to Lynette and they have four adult children. Andrew who is married to Tori and they live in Taradale; Rebecca who is a school teacher in Palmerston North (who has recently got engaged); Nick and Kate. Gary served as an elder at Napier Baptist Church for seven years and currently works in Hastings as the Chief Financial Officer at Ovation, a lamb exporting business. Gary is a faithful and wise servant who loves to encourage and pray for the saints. He and Lynette thrive in the area of hospitality, often hosting large crowds in their home.    Benji Carey Benji Carey is married to Kezia and they have a son, Ezra. Benji is multi-talented and multi-gifted, serving in both the music and children’s ministries at OBC. He graduated from The Shepherd’s Bible College in 2011 and completed his Bachelor of Applied Theology by correspondence through Carey Baptist in 2017. Although Benji is only a few years into his role as a husband and a father, he is in his early 30’s and has had over ten years of ministry and leadership experience both in Dunedin, as well as with us at OBC. Benji is a man of integrity, a diligent worker who regularly goes above and beyond the call of duty, and he will only continue to increase in his wisdom and leadership skills as he serves alongside other seasoned elders.