Senior Pastor Bob Atkins came to Grace Church in July of 2005 from Trinity United Methodist Church in Wilmette, IL, where he served as Directing Pastor for five years.  Prior to Trinity, Bob served as Directing Pastor of First United Methodist Church in LaGrange, IL, for seven years, as Co-pastor at Christ United Methodist in Rockford, IL, for nine years, and as Pastor at Malden United Methodist in Malden, IL, for four years.  Bob's academic credentials include a Ph.D. from Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary at Northwestern University in the field of Religious and Theological Studies.  He earned his Master of Divinity from Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary, his Master of Arts in Design for Theater from Northwestern University, and his Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from Elmhurst College.  Bob and his wife, Marlene (who serves as Dean of Academic Services for The Cooking and Hospitality Institute of Chicago) have two children, Christina and Matthew, and two grandchildren, Abigail and Tyler.

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