Our Staff

Scott Carson – Senior Pastor
 

Scott has been serving the Lord at Grace Church since 1988 as the Senior Pastor. He grew up in Atlanta, Georgia and first came to Wisconsin in 1975 as a junior to attend high school. He holds a Bachelors Degree from Maranatha Baptist Bible College in Watertown, Wisconsin and a Masters Degree from Cornerstone University in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Prior to coming to Grace, Scott served as an assistant pastor in Danville, Illinois and helped plant a church in the suburbs of Detroit, Michigan. He has a business background, having previously been involved in commercial sales and marketing.

Scott and his wife, Jane, have been blessed with three children: Charity, Ben and Aaron and a daughter in-law, Jiayu. Scott will quickly tell you that the six greatest days of his life have been “the day I accepted Christ, the day I married Jane, the birth of each of our three children, and the wedding of our son.”

Scott is a dedicated student, an avid reader and a book collector. He is committed to providing clear, practical teaching of the Bible as God’s perfect Word.

Scott is very active in our community and believes that a pastor should be involved in his community to encourage his church to be involved in their community. He is a member of the Burlington Rotary Club, President of the Friends of the Burlington Library, an Ambassador for the Waterford Area Chamber of Commerce. He is also the chaplain for the Burlington Police Department and a local hospital chaplain.
 
 
James Hauser – Assistant Pastor
 

James has been active in ministry for the last 12 years.  He graduated from Trinity International University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Christian Ministry and Pastoral Leadership.  Prior to coming to Grace, James served as a Director of Student Ministries in Paddock Lake, WI.  He has a business banking background having worked in commercial finance for 15 years. 

James is also a missionary as the Area Director of Youth For Christ in Burlington.  His ministry is to go on campus at local high schools in western Racine and Walworth counties, to reach students with the Gospel. 
 

James and his wife, Dana, have three wonderful children: Grace, Genevieve, and Grant.  They moved to Burlington in 2017 and have fallen in love with the community.  Dana works in the foster care system as a case manager and they both have a strong belief in making an impact for Christ within the community.  

 

Gary Thompson – Senior Ministry Pastor
 
Gary Thompson was born in Kenosha, WI in 1945 into a single parent home  and raised in extreme poverty until 12 years old. He and his mother never missed a church service and Gary accepted Jesus as his savior at a young age.  The love of his mother and joy of the Lord enriched his character and gave him a determination to serve and become active into ministry.  At 12 his mother met and married Ward Wilton.  Ward was a successful electrical contractor. It wasn’t long before Gary realized the benefits of hard work.  That same year, 1963, he joined the Air Force and married Nancy Scott. At 21 he became the first K-9 police officer in Kenosha and, with 3 other officers, started the Pleasant Prairie police department.  All together Gary has 12 years in law enforcement, 35 years as an electrician and contractor, 16 years as a Real Estate Broker and a developer of subdivisions.
 
In 1980 Gary received the call to ministry. He went home and told Nancy and the first thing she said was, “What took you so long?”  They sold their new home and all the stuff they accumulated and went to North Central University in Minneapolis, Minnesota majoring in Pastoral studies with a minor in missions.  During this same time period he served as the Business manager and associate pastor at Brookdale Christian Center. Since then Gary has pastored in Minnesota for 10 years, Wisconsin 12 years, Oklahoma 8 1/2 years, Missouri 2 years and back to Wisconsin for another 3 years.  He interned in Jamaica and he and Nancy made several missions trips to Kenya and Uganda in Africa.   He also had the privilege of spending extended time in Israel with a pastoral study group.
After 4 major heart attacks and many operations, they found themselves coming back to the Burlington area to be by their family.  Shortly thereafter Gary became Seniors Ministry Pastor of Grace Church.  Gary considers it an honor and privilege to share the love of Christ to a growing and wonderful congregation.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Travis Brinks and his wife Amy have been married since 2013 and have called Burlington their home since 2014. Both actively serve in the church through singing, the nursery and Bible studies. Travis is also the commish for the church fantasy football league. They have two wonderful children, Eva Grace and Titus Paul, and a crazy Pomeranian named Chico. Travis loves spending time with family, being outdoors, playing basketball and woodworking. Both Travis and Amy gave their lives to Christ at an early age and have been serving ever since.
 
Ron Strelow is an active member of Grace Church serving on our Audio-Visual team on Sunday mornings. He and his wife Jackie live in Rochester and have four children and 2 grandchildren. Self employed as an alarm technician, Ron enjoys using his technology skills in the audio visual portion of the service. His goal is to make sure the service is able to communicate the Gospel in the smoothest way possible.
Mike Wiemer is an active member of Grace Church serving on our Maintenance Team and generously gives of his time wherever needed.  He and his wife JoAnn live in Burlington.  Mike enjoys leading Men’s Bible Study and organizing the Men’s Ministry events.
Ryan Mattila and his wife Lauryn have considered Grace their home since 2019. Ryan and Lauryn are involved in AV, Bible studies, nursery, and decor.  They have two children Lydia and Finn. Ryan loves spending time with his family, working with Lauryn on house/yard projects, and tinkering with mechanical projects.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Dave Bonnar and his wife Jennie started coming to Grace Church in 2019, shortly after Dave was miraculously saved by Christ in 2018. Dave serves the Lord as a deacon, usher, and Grace Group leader.  Jennie organizes the greeter schedule and plays her flute with the worship team. They have been married for 27 years and have three children—Shawn, Jake, and Brandy, and four beautiful granddaughters who live in Wyoming. They spend their free time with their two Saint Bernards—Taggart and Kiya, doing home improvement projects, going to the shooting range, and keeping up with their aquariums. Jesus didn’t just save Dave, He saved Dave and Jennie’s marriage.
Worship Services every Sunday at 9:00 am & 10:30 am
Nursery and Children’s Church available at 10:30 am