Our Leadership

The Governing Elders

Liberty Church believes the Biblical model for church government places the responsibility and authority for church government into the hands of a plurality of elders, the senior pastor being the "lead elder" or "chief among equals". The elders seek to govern in unity with the Holy Spirit and one another through seeking the Lord and making decisions on a consensus basis whenever possible. The elders and their wives are listed below.

Pastor Pete and Martha

Pastor Pete Beck III was born in Tuscaloosa, Alabama in 1952. The family moved to Greensboro, NC in 1964 where he attended high school at Grimsley Senior High. He and Martha met in the seventh grade and began dating as Juniors in high school. Martha became a Christian first in 1971, and led Pete to the Lord during his freshman year at Duke University. After marrying Martha in 1973, they moved to Hampton, VA where Pete began his training for the ministry at New Covenant Church under Pastor Tom Jones, who gave apostolic oversight to his Dad's church in Greensboro for several years. In 1975 they moved back to Greensboro where Pete served and was further equipped for ministry by his Dad, who pastored Maranatha Church (now Living Way Church). Pete served as an elder at Maranatha for several years before becoming an associate pastor and principal of Maranatha Christian Academy. Pastor Pete and his wife, Martha, have been living in the Burlington area since 1990 after pioneering Liberty Church in 1988 as a church plant out of Maranatha. They have four children, Marie (married to Anton Janssen of Delft, the Netherlands, whose family now resides in Burlington, Pete IV (married to Tran Kim), David (living in Denver, CO), Clark, now a CPA (married to Leslie Milliken, who is a nurse). Pete and Martha have been blessed with five grandchildren, Victoria, Judah and Mercy Anne, all by Marie and Anton, Pete V, who is the son of Pete IV and Tran, and William Clark Beck, the son of Clark and Leslie. Martha is involved in the church at many levels - singing, graphic arts, administration, decorating, women's ministry and as an all around assistant to Pastor Pete. Pete is the senior pastor at Liberty Church where he serves in a variety of capacities. He is also the Dean of Master Builders Training Institute and its Pastors' College. Pete has ministered overseas in several nations. He is a pastor and teacher, loves to write and enjoys golf. He is also a member and president-elect of the Alamance Rotary Club.

 

 

Thom Cox and Sheri
Thom and Sheri Cox joined Liberty in 1990 and have faithfully served for many years. Thom has been a long-time elder and friend of Pastor Pete. He was ordained as a pastor in 2004. He and Sheri have three children, Zach, Rachel, and Joshua, and live in Graham, NC. Thom is an excellent teacher and counselor as well as a great friend. He oversees the Sunday morning adult Sunday School ministry, the finances, and the audio-visual ministry at Liberty Church. He loves graphics arts and videography. He and Sheri have been good examples of servants to the body of Christ. Together they have led small groups, overseen the teen ministry and headed up our participation in the Caring Kitchen ministry. Sheri is our children's ministry director and also a counselor in the church, a teacher and a discipler of women. She has taught and ministered in various conferences, too.

Len Hedgecock and Sheila
Len has served in a variety of capacities in the Body of Christ over the years. He is an ordained Baptist minister who has a passion for small group ministry and teaching God's Word. He oversees Liberty's small group ministry and the greeting ministry and is a POD leader. Sheila was born and raised in Argentina and uses her skills in Spanish in the local school system to teach English as a second language. She has a gift for working with children. They have three children of their own, Nathaniel, Leah and Benjamin. They live in Graham, NC.

The Advisory Council
The Advisory Council is composed of men who fulfill the Biblical qualifications of eldership but who have not been ordained to that role. They form a team that participates in most elders meetings in order to offer counsel and leadership.

Papa Pete Beck and Jane
Papa Pete provides part of the apostolic* oversight to Liberty Church. He is married to Jane and has four sons, Pete III, Mike, Steve, and Matt who have blessed him with 14 grandchildren and 3 great grandchildren. He lives in Pleasant Garden and is part of the leadership team of Masterbuilders Fellowship, an association of New Testament churches and ministers. He is still active in ministry throughout the world. His personal website is called Apostle's Heart. Jane is a real "Mom" to the church. She ministers in counseling, teaching and discipling women.
 
 

 

Pete Beck IV and Tran

Pete IV is one of the few who has been part of the church since its inception. He and Tran are the parents of the fifth generation of Pete Becks. Pete is a builder by trade, a drummer, hunter, kayaker and youth leader. He loves the great outdoors and is a favorite with the kids. Tran is wife, mother, business woman and wonderful creator of memorable meals.

Laurent Changuion and Ruth
Laurent has a passion for prayer and prison ministry. He loves riding motorcycles, working on cars and fast walking. He teaches English at Alamance Community College. Ruth has also served as a teacher and currently most enjoys her role as a new grand mother. They have two daughters and one grand daughter.

 

Anton Janssen and Marie
Anton is from the Netherlands where he was part of a church plant in Delft. His passion is evangelism and missions. He has a strong prophetic gift and God has used him in the word of knowledge and healing. He oversees our missions and evangelism departments. He loves cycling and spending time with his family. He is employed by Parata in Durham, NC. He also leads a POD group.

Marie is Pastor Pete's and Martha's daughter. She lived in the Netherlands for twelve years where she and Anton had three children, Victoria, Judah and Mercy Anne. Marie loves to sing, write and read. She is our worship team director.

 

The Wider Leadership Team
The Leadership Team is composed of those people who direct various ministries at Liberty Church. They meet with the elders and advisory council once a quarter.

Carolyn Gibbs

Carolyn is our prayer coordinator. She teaches at Western Alamance High School, serves the Body of Christ as a counselor and loves to pray.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kerne Hendey
Kerne is an IT guy, but his ministry at the church is in the area of hospitality. He and his wife Joan are a huge asset to the church. They have two wonderful daughters, Bianca and Michelle.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

* We understand an "apostle" to be someone who functions as a church planter and a "pastor of pastors", someone gifted with wisdom and an ability for overseeing churches. We do not believe that present day apostles have the ability to write Scripture as did those in the early church. Today's apostles are part of the "5-Fold" ministry listed in Ephesians 4:11 and under the authority of the Word of God and accountable to the local church.