What brought these men together was their passion to know the truth as it is revealed in holy scripture.
What keeps these men together is a shared vision for a confessionally reformed church in Reedsburg.
We invite you to get to know them below:
ELDERS
Fred Hermes
Fred grew up in a Lutheran home in Racine, WI with parents who were active in the music ministries of their church. At the age of 12, he received Jesus Christ as his Savior at a church camp; but it wasn’t until the age of 26 that he truly repented of his sin and received as both Saviour and Lord.
After his conversion, Fred sought to satiate his hunger and thirst for the truth of God’s Word by attending several churches (Baptist, Wesleyan, Anabaptist, etc). Without fully understanding why, he and his wife always felt out of place. The reason: They were reformed (but didn’t know what that word meant at the time).
In 1999, Fred found a reformed fellowship in Mauston, WI where he finally felt at home. It was there that his spirit was strengthened and his gifts were sharpened. A few years later (2003), they joined Grace Reformed Church where he continued to grow in grace and knowledge and where his late wife Jan joyfully served as church pianist.
Fred was nominated by the congregation to serve as an Elder in 2006, was ordained and installed in fall of 2007, and lives in La Valle, WI with his wife Nancy.
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Matt was converted as a young man in his twenties through the ministry of a local fundamental baptist church. He is thankful for the good start he received in his early Christian walk through their ministry; especially the emphasis on piety and separation from the world.
As he grew in his new life, he began to read anything he could get his hands on with a theological emphasis, and began to realize that, though he appreciated the sincerity of his current affiliations, there was a lack of doctrinal consistency and artificial limitations on growth imposed by the inherent Arminianism therein. Matt began to find answers in the writings of the reformers, and later the English Puritans.
After moving to Wisconsin to start farming in 2014, he visited Grace Reformed Church, and joined two months later. Further study of reformed doctrine and covenant theology helped him to embrace Reformed theology fully. His wife Stephanie serves as one of the church accompanists, and he was ordained as a ruling elder in 2018.
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Aaron Oberman
Aaron was baptized as in infant into the Catholic Church in Hartford, WI. While raised in his early years by two very loving parents, the faith-life practiced in the home languished. There is not a particular moment in his life that he would say he was saved, rather, Aaron’s walk with Christ has been a gradual and rocky journey into God’s grace.
After his father’s death, Aaron’s mother remarried a Lutheran with strong family roots in the church. He began to attend services and was eventually confirmed into the Lutheran Church (Missouri Synod).
While thankful for his Lutheran upbringing, there would develop theological questions with which Aaron struggled (particularly concerning God’s sovereignty, the nature of the sacraments, and how the church should apply the scriptures in the current age).
Aaron was eventually introduced to Reformed Theology and found in it the place where the Spirit had been leading him and his wife for a number of years. In 2015, the Obermans found a new church home in Grace Reformed and are grateful for God’s providence in bringing them there. Aaron was ordained and installed as an Elder in February of 2018. Aaron and Sarah live with their two younger children in Reedsburg.
DEACON
During high school years in Spring Green, Hugh attended a congregational church with his parents, where he heard scriptural preaching and teaching. But he left for college, stopped attending church, and immersed himself in science studies.
At the age of 27, needing hope, he prayed to a God in whom he did not believe, and even accepted a friend’s invitation to attend a worship service at a Christian Reformed Church. It was while attending this church that he finally believed in Jesus and trusted him as his Savior.
Hugh met Phyllis, who was the church choir director, and they married in 1979. She had been well-grounded in Reformed theology from her youth, and patiently waited over the years for him to catch-up.
Over the years (and as they moved about), they attended different churches: Christian Reformed, Evangelical Free, Reformed Baptist, and an independent Bible church. When Hugh became convinced of the truth of Reformed theology they started attending Grace Reformed Church. He was ordained deacon in 2017.
PASTOR
Christian McShaffrey
Christian was raised in a conservative Roman Catholic home in the Midwest, fell away from that faith as a teenager, spent several years in spiritual darkness, and was redeemed by the sovereign grace of God as a young adult. You can read his full testimony here.
After a period of personal sanctification and professional theological training, Christian moved to Reedsburg to plant a confessional Reformed church. His passion in life is proclaiming the glory of God, discipling people in the ways of the Lord, and equipping the saints for the work of ministry.
Christian and his wife Kelly are raising their six children in the rolling hills just outside of Reedsburg. Follow this link to contact our Pastor (or one of the church leaders).