Gerry Lefebvre

Gerry serves on our Strategic Initiatives Team.

You keep ministry momentum moving when you support the ministry of our stateside missionaries: our Lifeline staff who dedicate their lives 24/7 to restoring hope around the world. Your prayers and donations enable our staff to be your hands and feet, as God's love is shared through Lifeline's ministry communities!

Gerry shares:

I grew up in Southern California. My siblings and I were raised nominally Catholic, attending catechism in grades 1 through 7, but rarely attending church. I remember learning “the rules” about sin, about God being powerful, and somewhere in there Jesus was mixed in, in a “hero” sort of way, but not personal.

I met my wife Jan in 1979 at a music event in college. I started attending church with her, and we were married 1 year later in April of 1980. In July of 1980 we moved from California to Oregon where we live today.

We joined what was then Newberg Christian Church (now Northwest Christian Church). I remember early on at NCC being asked to become a deacon and to serve on the missions team. I remember accepting the deacon opportunity but turning the missions committee down because I had no interest.

In 1990 we were asked by our youth pastor if we would be interested in going on a short term mission trip with a group of select others to Haiti with Lifeline Christian Mission. The funny part about this is I hate the heat and humidity, and I still had no interest in missions. There was a lot of opposition to us going, some of which was fairly intense from family members. There were also a number of other trials including childcare (our girls were 6 and 2 at the time) and raising the funding. But God saw to it. So, in August of 1990 we went to Haiti. It was hot. (Did I mention I hate the heat?)

Halfway through that trip I remember a shift in my thoughts, and I found myself asking myself the question, “How could we return?” Wait, what? I hate the heat and had no interest in missions. But God saw to it.

One year later we were back with both of our girls, this time staying a month. We have been involved with Lifeline Christian Mission ever since.

I have led many short term teams to Haiti and Honduras (including the one where Joel Augustus met Janny!). I even worked on staff with Lifeline for a short stint in 1997. My wife Jan has participated in many teams as well, many of them Women’s Teams, including 2010, the year of the earthquake in Haiti. This event changed her life dramatically sparking a whole ministry evolution of its own. Needless to say, we’re in it for the duration. God has seen to it!

Jan and I have been married for nearly 43 years. We have 2 grown daughters with 3 grandchildren. We love spending time with our family and enjoy traveling either in our motorhome or on the motorcycle (which often leads us to our family). Jan loves to sew … pretty much anything… and I enjoy automotive work, music, home repair, or getting pretty much anything to work. I also serve on the board at Winema Christian Camp at the Oregon Coast, and Jan continues to serve on staff at our church.

We want to continue to serve when and where we’re called (regardless of our inhibitions) until we can’t do so any longer. We know that God will see to it.