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| Rev. McGarry takes over at First Assembly of God Church |
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By Mindy MacDonald
Oct. 20 marks the official installment date of Rev. Larry and Carol McGarry into the Prineville First Assembly of God Church.
McGarry, who works very closely as a team with his wife, has been serving the church since Aug. 11.
McGarry grew up in Pennsylvania, and after he graduated from high school, he headed out to Fontana, Calif.
Mrs. McGarry lived in West Virginia until the age of 12 when she and her family also moved to California.
The two didn't meet until their college years when Carol happened to be baby-sitting McGarry's nieces. McGarry went over to his sister's house in San Bernadino, Calif. to visit his nieces on Halloween night. They both recall nodding at each at their first meeting, but they were never officially introduced.
At the time McGarry was working for the Savings and Loan Association and Carol was attending Chaffey Junior College pursuing a degree in dental hygiene. Two weeks after their first meeting, McGarry called up Carol and asked her to be his date to his company's Christmas party.
"I knew three weeks after our first date that we were to be married," McGarry proclaimed.
As their dating progressed, McGarry was drafted to go overseas for the U.S. military. He was informed that he was allowed to bring his immediate family with him to Paris, so he spontaneously proposed to Carol. The couple planned a wedding in two weeks and they were married on Feb. 12, 1966.
The newlyweds were stationed in France and Germany, and finally made it back home to Fontana, Calif. in 1967. There McGarry went to Chaffey Junior College and earned his associates degree in business management, while Carol was a successful homemaker. McGarry then resumed his job with the Savings and Loan Association and stayed with the company throughout the next several years.
In 1978, the family moved to Salem, where McGarry furthered his business career by taking on management responsibilities in the savings and loan industry.
In the early 80's, McGarry began volunteering as an associate pastor at an Assembly of God church in Salem. Soon after, and through the church, he earned pastoral credentials, which are the equivalent of a four year bachelor's degree. In 1986, McGarry began serving the church as a full-time staff pastor.
The McGarry family stayed in Salem until 1988 when they moved to Paisley, which is southeast of LaPine, to pastor a home missions church (a congregation of less than 20).
In 1990, McGarry moved with his family to LaPine to lead LaPine Christian Center. They were there for five years and then headed back to the valley to pastor a church in Canby.
By the year 2000, the McGarry family felt they needed a break. They took a year off, stepping back from pastoral responsibilities, and gained a new perspective on the ministry.
"That year off, we visited every type of church there is and that was very refreshing," Carol said.
In 2001, McGarry accepted a position as director of admissions at Salem Bible College. Throughout the year he realized how he missed the pastoral ministry and began looking around for a pastoral job. After a great deal of prayer, he sent his resume to Prineville First Assembly of God. By August 2002, he had been interviewed and hired for the position.
"We believe God has blessed us by bringing us here," McGarry said.
The McGarry's have three grown children. Tanya is 35 and lives in Seattle, Wash.; Shawna is 32 and lives in Keizer with her husband, Wes, and two sons, Matthew and Michael; and Isaiah is 23 and lives in Canby with his wife, Awbrey, and their son Ethan. Isaiah and his family are in the process of moving to Bend.
McGarry and his wife expressed their excitement in living in Prineville and in the job set before them, "I don't know that we have ever been busier, but I don't think we've ever had so much fun."
Their main points of focus for the church are to examine and put into effect ways of reaching the current culture; to meet people's needs in a practical manner; and to equip people to become everything that God wants them to be. McGarry presents these goals with P.A.C.K. (Practical Acts of Christian Kindness). He said, "I am desperate to touch people's lives in a way in which God will work wonders."
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