The Weekly Epistle 3/10/21

The elders will be recommending to the church membership, Gary Cobis to serve as elder. Gary has completed the 10 sessions for effective spiritual leadership, met with the elders, and meets the biblical qualifications for eldership. Here is a little of Gary’s story.

My name is Gary Cobis and I have been married to my wife Brenda for 28 years, we reside in Gilford. I have two sons, the oldest is Nathan and the youngest is Zachary. They both attend EBC and our Friday night small group and are currently are starting their careers in law enforcement. We are excited to have an addition to our family, Zachary’s fiancé Jade Pickowicz, they will be married in July.

I started my personal relationship with Jesus Christ in 1997 after many years of trying to manage my own life; substance abuse problems and a family history of alcoholism. I attended twelve step programs and personal/couples counseling. For ten years prior to my accepting Christ, I was sober and taking all I could from my support system at the time; knowing all the while, there had to be something more. Shortly after my father’s death, I had a lot more unanswered question. One day I was listening to a pastor on the radio talk about the attributes of God,” All love, All power, All knowledge etc.,” which I agreed with, then he added “Jesus was God, and is God.” These words would change my life and family forever; I knew God, but I didn’t know his name until then.  I realized that Christ died for the sins of the world, and this included me.

Living in Halifax, Massachusetts, our family attended a Congregational Church for a brief period of time then attended New Hope Chapel in Rockland. I began to teach and lead home bible studies, welcome to the family class (EBC calls it Discovery Class) and facilitated the men’s ministry.  We moved to Rochester, Massachusetts where we attended Church in the Pines. My roles consisted of deacon, board member, small group facilitator, and men’s bible study leader; in addition, my wife and I assisted in the start-up of Celebrate Recovery. I am thankful for my wife’s love, support and prayers throughout the years, and for that I will be forever grateful. After eight years we moved to Gilford, New Hampshire.

We started attending Grace Capital in Laconia. My roles there included elder, life group leader, and assistant youth group leader. I experienced many loving relationships in this church family, they were close in my heart, but my doctrinal differences prevented me and my family from continuing to attend. We started attending Evangelical Baptist Church in Laconia. My wife and I completed the Discovery Class and became members of EBC. We currently host a small group at our home on Friday nights and I lead the weekly study.

I see my role as an elder at EBC Laconia as it is written in God’s Word 1 Timothy 3 and Titus: Protecting the flock, staying spiritually alert, caring for practical needs of the church family, and teaching the Word of God. I look forward to working with Pastor Brian, Pastor Dan and the other elders in shepherding the church and assisting them in any way possible. Thank you for considering me in the role as elder.

In Christ,

Gary Cobis