ECC Shepherd

As a shepherd with Every Community for Christ (ECC), OMS International’s worldwide, evangelistic church-planting ministry, Roger Kruse travels regularly to India. He works closely with Indian regional coordinators by providing encouragement, support, training and accountability in the leadership of some 70 ECC teams. He also is helping to implement and supervise a new village church-planting strategy. Glenda provides administrative support and travels with Roger to India for extended ministry once each year.

Roger came to know Christ personally in 1971 and then went on to study Bible and theology, earning his B.A. and M.Div. Sensing God’s call to serve Him overseas, Roger responded with obedience, arriving in India in 1980. There he immersed himself in language and culture learning, sharing Christ and preparing to teach at OMS’s Madras Bible Seminary. In December of 1980, he met Glenda Keats, a New Zealander who was teaching at Allahabad Bible Seminary. The two married in New Zealand in December of 1981. After two fruitful years of training evangelists and pastors, they left India. Their next stop was the South Pacific, where they partnered with nationals to share the Gospel and establish new churches. Three of their five children were born during this period. Their son Wade contracted spinal meningitis and required extensive medical help. They reluctantly left Asia in 1988. For the last 15 years, Roger has served as the senior pastor of Cornerstone Bible Church in northeast Ohio. During this time, he has had the privilege of spearheading a missions emphasis that is effectively building disciples worldwide.

Roger and Glenda have five children: Luke, born in 1984, a history teacher; Wade (1985); Derek (1987), a pre-med student at Grove City College; Caleb (1990), soon to be a student at Malone University; and Emily (1997), a fifth grader. Wade went to be with Jesus in February 2009 after 23 years of courageously facing the profound limitations of cerebral palsy. God used Wade’s life to teach his family and many who knew him about contentment and perseverance despite suffering. A powerful message of faith has been woven into their lives.

Roger is an avid runner and had the joy of coaching the local high school boys and girls cross-country teams for eight years. Both he and Glenda pursue a simple lifestyle, including growing and preserving their own fruits and vegetables, and heating their home with a woodstove. Glenda delights in cooking different international dishes from scratch. They make their home in Middlefield, Ohio, nestled on four acres surrounded by the fourth largest Amish community in America.
 

Missionary ID #801443