President

Steve and Becky met in college, and for Steve it was love at first sight. They were married nine months later (Steve was 19 by two weeks, and Becky was 20). They have now been partners in life and ministry for fifty five years.

After serving in several pastoral staff positions, Steve and Becky joined Grace International Churches and Ministries in 1974 and started a church in Livermore, CA. During their ten years there, five buildings were built, and the church grew to become the largest Protestant Church in the city.

While doing ministry in a prison in the Philippines in 1978, Steve and Becky were taken hostage by four prisoners armed with knives. During the attempted escape from the prison, the four prisoners were killed by police. Steve was stabbed seven times and almost died, and Becky was shot – after which she spent nine months in a body cast with five surgeries and another nine months learning how to walk again. They have shared their amazing story of God’s presence and power in the crisis on many TV programs and in venues around the world.

In 1983, Steve and Becky moved to Houston, TX to begin Grace Community Church in the NASA community. During their tenure, the church grew to 17,000 members and constructed a 250,000 sq. ft., 10,000-seat worship center, located on 80 acres in the NASA community. The church also expanded to campuses in The Woodlands, TX; Oceanside, CA; and San Marcos, CA. Steve and Becky now serve as the Founding Senior Pastors of Grace Woodlands Church in The Woodlands, TX.

Along with pastoring, Steve also serves as the President of Grace International, a fellowship of over 5,150 churches with more than 499,000 members, various compassion ministries, and educational institutions both nationally and internationally with ministries in 126 nations of the world. Steve and Becky are both actively involved in training ministry leaders.

Steve has also been active in the business community in building construction and in land investment and development. He currently leads the development team for Cathedral Lakes, a 150-acre mixed-use development located in The Woodlands, TX, and a church development project for Grace International in San Juan Capistrano, CA.

Steve also serves on the board of the Mighty Oaks Foundation and on the Executive Team of Houston Area Pastors Council – a group of pastors seeking to serve the whole body of Christ in the Greater Houston area as it mobilizes to reach the whole city with the gospel. He is also the former President of The King’s University, founded by Pastor Jack Hayford.

Steve has a Master’s degree from Oral Roberts University and a DMIN from The King’s University. Steve and Becky have been married for fifty five years, and they have two children, six grandchildren, and four great grandchildren.

Vice President

Larry has been in vocational ministry for over 45 years. That experience continues to focus his passion on a balanced approach to ministry and a strong emphasis on teaching. He has served as a youth pastor; associate pastor; church planter; leadership, retreat, and conference speaker; and as Lead Pastor since 1985.

In November of 2001 Larry became lead Pastor of Celebration Church in Livermore, California. He also is the Vice President of Grace International headquartered in Houston, Texas and provides oversight for the Grace International Church Planting Department.

A native Southern Californian, Larry and his wife Rhonda have enjoyed almost 50 years of marriage. As partners in life and ministry they share an enthusiasm to see lives changed and Christians matured by the grace of God. They have two married children and five grandchildren.

Executive Administrator & Corporate Secretary

Stu is the Executive Administrator for Grace International Churches and Ministries, Inc., where he oversees all the day to day operations of Grace International. Stu has extensive ministry experience as a conference speaker, youth pastor, college and career pastor, associate pastor, senior pastor, and district superintendent. He was also an Air Force officer for 30 years, retiring in 1999 as a Colonel. He has led military organizations of over 6,000 people and multimillion dollar budgets. Stu has a Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering Management from the United States Air Force Academy and a Master’s in Business Administration from the University of California at Los Angeles. Also, he has extensive training in Biblical and ministry areas. Further, he is the author of four books, ‘The Grace Goes With The Chair’, ‘5 Power Prayer Principles’ and ‘Listening to the God of Proverbs’ (Volumes 1 and 2). Stu has been married to Debbe for 55 years and has two grown children, and three grandchildren.

Director of International Ministries

Jon Burkley is the Pastor of Missions and Adult Discipleship at Grace Church Houston. A graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, Jon has served as an officer in the Army, and then 35 years as a business leader in the corporate world. While on a visit to India in 2012, Jon received a call to ministry, and after retirement joined the staff at Grace Church Houston in 2014. Since that time, Jon has led over 49 mission and ministry trips around the world, bringing assistance and encouragement to GI churches and missionaries. Jon was appointed to the International Ministries Board in 2016, and then became Director of International Ministries in October 2021. Jon’s vision is see the Gospel spread throughout the world, to assist the churches and ministers in Grace International in bringing the Good News to a lost and hurting world. Jon has been married to his beautiful bride Sydney for 44 years, they have 2 children, and 2 beautiful grandchildren.

Director of Church Expansion

Arni is the Co-Founding Pastor of City Church, Salt Lake City, Utah. He is a successful pastor, mentor, church planter, motivator and author. Arni loves to build lasting relationships and see people come to a real understanding of their relationship with Christ. Over more than 50 successful years in ministry, Arni has built dynamic churches in Merrill, Wisconsin; Salt Lake City, Utah; Salem, Oregon; and pioneered a church of more than 3,000 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. In 2007, Arni and his son, Chad, embarked on a new ministry, returning to Utah to co-found City Church. Arni continues to be a much sought after speaker and counselor to churches both in the United States and abroad. Arni and his wife, Jan, have two children and six grandchildren.

Spanish Ministries Director

Dario has been a minister for more than 40 years. He is leading a network of ministries and churches throughout 30 nations around the world, with more than 850 churches under his leadership. Dario has been married to Cindy for over 40 years, and they have four children. For most of their ministry life, they lived in Guatemala, which was their home base for their international ministry. Since 2006, they have been living in area of Houston, Texas. Since fall of 2006, Dario and Cindy have been planting Spanish speaking congregations in the United States and abroad. Dario has the burden of seeing multitudes transformed by the power of God. His passion is to develop and raise many in leadership and into the ministry.