News & Articles

This is the first of two articles on the transition of Pastors Gearhart and Bates into their new roles at HPBC. You can read the second, where we interview Andrew, here.

For practically all of Pastor Joel Gearhart's ministry life, he has been focused particularly on discipling teenagers and encouraging parents to do the same. He's done this in staff and volunteer roles in various local churches, and for the past 9 years, he has faithfully filled this role at Hampton Park. But all throughout that time, behind and underneath that important ministry, another passion has been stirring that is well-known to all those who know Joel well: God's work through global missions. 

And so, on September 1, 2022, after hiring Pastor Andrew Bates to fill the role of Pastor for Student Ministries, Joel transitioned into his new role here at HPBC as Pastor for Missions and Outreach. As Joel and Andrew transition into their new roles, we wanted to ask each of them a few questions to give you some additional insight into their passions and desires as they begin. Today, we'll talk to Joel about his new role in Missions and Outreach. Next Friday, we'll post a similar interview with Andrew.

Joel, you served as Pastor for Student Ministries here at HPBC for close to 9 years. When you look back on your time in this role, what do you most thank God for?

It has been an incredible privilege to invest in the lives of the next generation of HP. Dawn and I have often said that one of the best parts of teen ministry is when teens become friends. We are so grateful for that opportunity here at HP.

Before we leave reminiscing about teen ministry, I have to ask, "Who was the most annoying teenager during those 9 years?"

Without a doubt, Tom Chapman! Oh, wait, you said teen…

You’re now a full-time Pastor for Missions and Outreach here at HPBC. You are well-known by our pastoral body (and members) as someone who is passionate about missions. When and how did your love of missions start?

That’s something hard to pin down. During my childhood we regularly had missionaries in our home. In junior high I read Daktar: Diplomat in Bangladesh, a book about Viggo Olsen. I often heard about my grandparents’ frequent missions trips. In high school I participated in several trips to serve at Indian Reservations in the Southwest. During college I was significantly challenged as I listened to and read John Piper. These are a few things God used to stir my passion for missions. But, more than all that, I grew up in a home and, therefore a church (since my dad was also my pastor), where missions was never an add-on, but was central to family and church life.

You served as Pastor for Student Ministries here at HPBC and at another church prior to coming here. How many mission trips (both international trips and trips to other places in the US) have you taken with those teens?

Here at HP we have led two teen missions trips to the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico with our gospel partners Marco and Gwendolyn Nunez (2015 and 2017). We also took the teens to serve at Plant Camp in Utah three times (2014, 2021, and 2022).

At our previous church we took two teen missions trips – one to Uruguay (2004) and one to Germany (2006). We also took those teens to minister at a church in Windsor, Ontario (2007).

Awesome! That's 8 by my count. Have you been on other mission trips apart from those trips with teens? When/where?

As a teen I participated in two missions trips in the Southwest – one on a Navajo Reservation (near Farmington, NM) and the other on an Apache Reservation (near Fort Thomas, AZ). When we lived in Wisconsin just after we were married, Dawn and I helped lead a teen ministry trip to inner city Baltimore (2001) and the next summer I helped lead the same group on a ministry trip to inner city Minneapolis (2002). More recently, in 2018 Dawn and I had the opportunity to visit several of our gospel partners in China, along with my brother and his family, who where at the time serving there as well.

What is a particular country or missionary that you hope to visit at some point? And why?

So, you want me to pick a favorite missionary?? :) There are a number of people and places I really look forward to visiting. So, I’ll go with Dominica (where Tony and Martha Cornelius and Hudson and Louise Challenger serve), since that is the first place I plan to visit in my new role.

What excites you most about being in this role?

There are a lot of things that excite me. Since I have to pick one, I’d say that it is the chance to get a front row seat as, Lord willing, over the next few years we will have the opportunity to see God direct a number from our body to go to the ends of the earth for the sake of the gospel.

What is your favorite book on missions? And why? (Don’t cheat. You can only choose one for this question!)

Without a doubt it is A Vision for Mission by Tom Wells. A decade ago I was given this little book by my little brother as he and his family were preparing to leave for China. Some books you read and then just put on your shelf. This is a book I read and have continued to go back to again and again and it has had a significant influence on my thinking about missions. The central idea of the book is that God is worthy to be known and proclaimed for who He is. This is core to the missionary motive and message. And those who know the most about God are the most responsible and best equipped to tell others of Him. This is a great place to start for anyone looking to read about missions.

I read that book with you and the interns a couple years ago and agree that it is excellent! What is your favorite missionary biography? And why?

I love the little book John G Paton: Missionary to the Cannibals of the South Seas by Paul Schlehlein. The autobiography of Paton is excellent, but very long. Schlehlein does a great job of sharing significant highlights of Paton’s life and then drawing out lessons for us to learn from his example and story. If you are looking for a great read you should check it out!

(You've continually recommended this biography to me, and I have yet to read it. I'm sorry!) What is the most compelling quote you’ve heard on missions?

I have to give two answers to this question. For a long time, the well-known words of Jim Elliot have gripped me. He wrote that “he is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.” Elliot lived that to its fullest. The other quote is one that has been up on the white board in my office for several years…at this point it might be permanent. :) I can’t remember where I read it, but it is one that I can’t get out of my head. “It is the pastor’s responsibility and privilege to fan the flame of God’s global glory in the church. Shepherd your people to be disciple-makers among the nations.”

Thanks for sharing all of that! I'm excited to see how God continues to grow our church in this area. I want to shift gears a bit here at the end. Another part of your oversight is local outreach, and you recently told me that you plan to implement a couple of new things at Harvest Happening this year. What are those and why do you see them as a valuable addition to this yearly event for our community?

At Liberty Park (during Plant Camp in Utah with the teens) we used tables with questions on them to engage people in the park in conversation. We plan to do something similar during Harvest Happening. A few of the questions we are thinking of using are “Need Prayer?” and “What is Greenville’s greatest need?”. Our prayer is that God will use these questions to provide opportunities for some of us to have intentional gospel conversations with some of those coming on to our campus.

And finally, is Outreach a program or a way of life? (How’s that for a leading question?!)

Simplest answer I can give is that it is a way of life that on an occasion is programized to rally God’s people during a specific time for a specific task. We are called to be people quick to give answer of the hope that is within us. We are all called to be heralds of the Good News whereever God sends us.