Dale Smith
Pastor Smith was born in Florida and converted at the age of eighteen. He attended Mid-South Bible College in Memphis, TN, where, surprisingly, he was first introduced to the Doctrines of Grace and Reformed theology. He later transferred to Bryan College in Dayton, TN, where he received his bachelor’s degree, and, more importantly, met his wife, Jenny. From there he went to Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson, MS and graduated with an M. Div.
After attending a private academy for two years he and his family moved back to Rockford, IL in 1987. Shortly after arriving in Rockford Dale began leading the home Bible study that Al Huber and a few other families had initially started the year before. In December of 1987 that group began meeting once a month for worship and eventually became Grace Reformed Baptist Church. Dale became the first pastor of the church and remains a faithful laborer in this field.
Pastor Smith has represented Grace Reformed Baptist Church on two overseas mission trips and will continue that service from time to time.
Dale and Jenny have eight children.
Allen Huber
Allen Huber was born in 1952 in Sparta Wisconsin where he lived on a farm until his family moved to Florida when he was nine and then to Rockford when he was 15.
Though Al was raised in a church he lived a life of quiet rebellion through the early years of adulthood. At the age of 21 he began working as a machinist. It was during that employment that he met and was mentored by a faithful Christian man. Through the ministry of this friend, Al was converted.
Over the next several years Al became an avid reader of theology and soon became thoroughly reformed. During that time he served as a deacon in an Evangelical Free Church.
In 1986 the Huber family became a part of the initial small group that met to study the Bible using The London Confession of Faith of 1689. In December of 1987 that group began meeting once a month for worship services that were held in the Huber home. Eventually, that group became Grace Reformed Baptist Church.
Al met his wife to be at a Christmas Party at the church she attended and they were married in 1974. They now have 5 children, 1 boy, and 4 girls, all of which are walking with the Lord. All of the children are married. Al and his wife live on a farm which allows plenty of room to enjoy their many grandchildren and host social events for the church.
In 1996 Allen became the 2nd Elder of GRBC. Sensing that God was calling him to that work and realizing the need to be properly equipped to “Shepherd the flock”, Al embarked in a training program and is now the only NANC ( National Association of Nouthetic Counselors) certified counselor in the Rockford area. He has many occasions to use his counseling gifts, both inside and outside the church.
Al has always had administrative gifts and an entrepreneurial spirit. For several years he served on the Board of Directors for The Biblical Counseling Center of Arlington Heights Illinois. He used his entrepreneurial spirit to create the North American Fabricating Company. NAFCO has been blessed by the Lord with much success. It is a machine screw business with 60 employees that provides fasteners to the automotive, and other industries. Every Thursday Al leads a 30-45 minute mid morning Bible study at the shop. Every employee is welcome to break from their work and attend the study. NAFCO has provided Al with a great deal of freedom to be engaged in ministry.
Steve Tigner
Born in 1946, Steve is the son and grandson of evangelical church pastors. He has been actively involved in church his entire life. He grew up in Illinois. While in his teens, Steve’s father accepted the call to pastor a church in Rockford. In retrospect, Steve believes that he was truly converted while a high school student in Rockford. At that time he decided to pursue a Christian education in preparation for the pastorate.
While in college Steve married his high school sweetheart, Bonnie, in 1967. Upon graduation from what is now Cincinnati Christian University, Steve pastored a church in Ohio. After a few years he began to question his call to the ministry. In 1972 Steve and Bonnie returned to Rockford. Over the next 25 years Steve became an officer in his church and an owner of a distribution company. He has also served on a number of business, civic and church related boards.
In the late 1980’s Steve and Bonnie were introduced to the Doctrines of Grace by friends at church. Bonnie “saw the light” very quickly. But, as Steve began reading and studying Reformed Theology, the Holy Spirit worked on his mind and heart very slowly. By the mid 1990’s Steve was thoroughly reformed and determined that they must move to a doctrinally sound church.
In 1997 they began attending Grace Reformed Baptist Church while their only child, Tony, was a freshman in college. By God’s grace, over the next few years, Tony became reformed and is now married and pursuing a life of Christian ministry.
The next five years of reading was preparatory. Steve spent countless hours discussing theology with Dale Smith. In 2003 Steve became the 2nd lay pastor of the church and, overall, the 4th member of the Eldership. The Lord has blessed Steve's business with very capable managers. The result is that the business requires very little of his attention. Steve is able to focus a great deal of his time on the ministry of the church.