A Little About Pastor Brian Warner

• Loves people, especially enjoys getting to know people of the church and new people
• Married to wife Susan, with four wonderful grown children and three grandchildren
• Graduate of Wheaton College Graduate School (MA in Biblical and Theological Studies)
• Undergraduate degree from Houghton College (Communications with Music Minor)
• Has ministered at Greystone Church for 10 years
• Church planter (two area churches)
• Ordained in 2009 (North American Baptist)
• Member of The Gospel Coalition
• Staff writer for national website “GotQuestions.org”
• Founder of Grace Fellowship, a non-profit helping church plants, revitalizations, and Christian ministries
• Director of WZNY – Z98.3, a Christian radio station in Rochester, NY
• Runs established advertising firm Quantum Communications (part-time, select clients)
• Favorite writers include John Piper, Sam Storms, Jonathan Edwards, William G.T. Shedd, Wayne Grudem, Thomas Schreiner, and Douglas Moo
• Heroes and mentors include John Piper, Alister Begg, Dr. David Ewing, Pastor Ried Furgeson, and Dr. Dana Goodnough
• Hobbies include dogs (woof!), photography, video production, radio, music production, recording studios, target shooting, martial arts, acoustics, audio and broadcast engineering, systematic theology, and writing.

Philosophy of Ministry:

I am passionate about seeing people come to faith in Christ, then follow Jesus, and ultimately become like Jesus. This is a process of spiritual formation. Here is Paul’s job description for pastors:

Eph 4:12-13 – To equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

I prepared for ministry later in life at Wheaton College Graduate School. I thank God for that great opportunity. I love the deep study of scripture and being very precise in my doctrine and beliefs. However, the purpose of Christianity is not to study and amass knowledge. There are no rewards in heaven for “know-it-alls”! The primary purpose of gaining precise biblical knowledge is to become like Jesus, and then equip other believers to do the same. Authentic Christians will love God, feast on His word, gain knowledge, and become like Jesus. Out of love for Jesus, they will follow and obey him.
When people come to Greystone they will learn a lot! However, we make sure that it translates into leaving our old natures behind, and putting on the nature of Christ. We want our faith to flow into love and good works empowered by our walk in the Spirit of God. We preach and teach the Gospel of Grace. Teaching imparts knowledge, and preaching spurs us onward to our goal of becoming like Jesus and serving him.

Care & Feeding Instructions:

I prefer to be called Brian, not Pastor Brian or Reverend. However, whatever you prefer is fine. I’m always available for your call. I’m happy to pray with you, or celebrate what great new thing God may be doing in your life! To that end, I’m glad to give you my cell phone number (just not on this website!). Contact Brian. I really love people but admittedly have an issue remembering names, so I ask for grace in that department. If you are new to the church, I’ll try to connect with you over coffee or a meal. But I invite you to help me out, too. Let me know if and when you might be open to that. Feel free to call before you visit if you have questions, especially if you have questions not answered on the website. Sometimes I’m not able to meet every new visitor, and I go home disappointed that I wasn’t able to have that chance. So I truly appreciate it if you can also seek me out and say hello.

Not to surprise you, but we are not a mega-church. We are a small growing fellowship doing big things for a great God. We offer close fellowship and a real opportunity to grow in an authentic way. Finding a church is less about meeting your individual needs, though that is important. It’s more about finding a place where you can use your God-given gifts to serve God effectively and thrive spiritually.

I look forward to meeting you!