who we are
We are a church that seeks to display God’s glory among ourselves, our community, and the nations, by being Gospel-centered and Word-driven as we worship God according to His commands as a body of believers in community together. We are a group of baptized believers that affirm what is written in our church statement of faith and covenant. We are a congregational church that is led by a plurality of elders and served by deacons and deaconesses.
Elders/pastors are men in the church who, according to scripture, are to devote themselves to the ministry of the word and prayer (Acts 6:4). Their qualifications are laid out in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1.
Kevin McKay, senior pastor
Kevin grew up in Northern Virginia where he came to see himself as a sinner in need of a savior under the ministry of Hamilton Baptist Church. After high school he moved to Tennessee where he received a degree in Communications from Carson-Newman College. There, he met his wonderful wife, Melissa, and they married in 2003. In 2004, Kevin began his studies at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY. He attended that school from a distance while working on staff at a church in Knoxville, TN, as a student minister. There, he and his wife were involved in inner-city ministry with high school students. In 2006 Kevin and Melissa moved to Washington D.C., where Kevin was a part of the internship program and then the staff of Capitol Hill Baptist Church. Kevin was sent out by Capitol Hill Baptist Church in August 2008 to Providence, RI, to become the pastor of Grace Harbor Community Church. Kevin and Melissa are happy to call Providence and New England home, and are thankful for the family that God has given them in Grace Harbor Community Church. They have a three year old son, Silas, and their new baby boy, Titus.
Travis Rymer, elder/pastor
Travis Rymer is originally from Chattanooga, TN. Though raised in a Christian home he did not become a Christian until the age of 17 when the faith of his parents became his own as he came to submit to Jesus of Nazareth as the Lord of all and Savior of all who come to Him through His life, death, and resurrection in repentance and faith. After high school he moved to Dallas, TX where received his BA in Biblical Studies. Later, he moved to the North Shore area of Boston where he studied at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary earning a MA in Old Testament and a MA in Biblical Languages. After seminary, Travis participated in the pastoral internship at Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, DC. He has been married to Rebeca since 2005, and they have one daughter. He comes to Providence, RI to work in college ministry at Johnson and Wales University, but has a strong love for the local church. His greatest desire is to be found faithful to Jesus the Christ all the way to the very end and to pass on “The faith that was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3).
Deacons and deaconesses are men and women in the church who serve and uphold the ministry of the word and prayer by freeing the elders up to do devote themselves to the ministry of the word and prayer. Deacons and deaconesses do this by giving oversight to particular ministries and in so doing protect the unity of the church (Acts 6:1-4).
Kyle Rabe, deacon of music
Kyle Rabe was born and raised around Kansas City, Kansas and received a Bachelor of Music Education degree from the University of Kansas in 2004. More importantly, he married his wife, Anne, that year and began to serve as a music minister for a church in Lawrence, KS. The two moved to Providence in 2008 when Anne began her Ph.D. program in Classics at Brown, and they have felt extremely blessed by the church family of Grace Harbor.
Joel Sedam, deacon of music
My wife Jen and I are both Rhode Island natives, but we both attended college in Florida. We moved back up to Providence in January of 2009. Grace Harbor was the first and last church we visited! We are both so thankful for God’s guidance in bringing us back to a city we love and a church that we are continually blessed to be a part of. Currently, I serve on staff with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship at Roger William’s University. It is my desire to see the campus reached with the liberating gospel of Jesus, and to see students transformed into committed followers of Him. Jen and I both reside on the east side of Providence with our wonderful beagle Gunther.
Gil Costa, deacon of ordinances
Gil was born in the Azores Islands of Portugal, but moved to the United States in 1977 at the age of nine. He grew up in Rhode Island where he was raised Catholic, but heard the Gospel for the first time while in a drug and alcohol treatment program in 2002. In 2008 he married his lovely wife, Tiffany, and currently works for the Salvation Army Adult Rehabilitation Center where he has the joy of sharing the Good News with others. He loves God’s Word and how it changes lives just like his.