LIFE CHURCH MINISTRIES - Key Persons
A passion for Christ- to rescue the perishing; into physical and Christian spiritual development
Andrew Grant was born in Bridgetown, Barbados to Mr. Darnley Grant and Mrs. Etwin Grant. He is the second of two children born to this family.
He was educated in Barbados at the Lodge School and the Combermere School where he obtained ‘O' level certification in English, History, Geography, French and Spanish and ‘A' level certification in French and Spanish.
He received Christ as Lord and personal savior on May 29 th, 1981 and was baptized on March 6 th, 1982. He was received into membership at the Abundant Life Assembly on March 7 th, 1982 where he served faithfully for 19 years serving in most of the church's departments.
Andrew Grant was born in Bridgetown, Barbados to Mr. Darnley Grant and Mrs. Etwin Grant. He is the second of two children born to this family.
He was educated in Barbados at the Lodge School and the Combermere School where he obtained ‘O' level certification in English, History, Geography, French and Spanish and ‘A' level certification in French and Spanish.
He received Christ as Lord and personal savior on May 29 th, 1981 and was baptized on March 6 th, 1982. He was received into membership at the Abundant Life Assembly on March 7 th, 1982 where he served faithfully for 19 years serving in most of the church's departments.
After receiving the call for full time ministry on May 12th 1991, he enrolled at the West Indies School of Theology (W.I.S.T) in St. Joseph, Republic of Trinidad and Tobago to pursue studies in theology. At this bible school, he was elected as student body president and became editor in chief of the school magazine, the Flame. During this time, he did pastoral stints at Zion Tabernacle, his home church Abundant Life Assembly, Pentecostal Cathedral in Trinidad and the Champ Fleurs Pentecostal Assembly in Trinidad. He graduated with honors from W.I.S.T in May 7 th 1994 with a diploma in theology. Upon completion of his studies at W.I.S.T, he spent a year serving with Operation Mobilization in cross cultural missions in France, the U.K and Hungary. Here, he interacted with the public to help them discover their potential and reach their destiny in God and participated in conferences and seminars to communicate the organization's objectives.
From May 2001 to September 2009, he served as assistant pastor with In House Assembly Ministries. As assistant pastor, he was in charge of the junior church department, missions, evangelism and intercessory ministry.
Andrew Grant is passionate about seeing others serve God in spirit and truth. He is also passionate about health and fitness and believes our bodies are the temple of God and we need to treat them as such. He also has an interest in civil aviation having spent many years in that field.
He is currently single and resides in the Greater Boston Area of Massachusetts.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Leadership Team
- Life Group Leader, Worship Leader
Born in Houston, TX, Crystal has a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a M.S. in Education Administration from Boston College. She currently serves as the Assistant Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations at The Salvation Army Massachusetts Division.
From 2008 - 2018, she served in leadership alongside her husband, Michael Dixon as the Director of Administration at a private K12 school, overseeing all back-office functions, STEM and Early Education instruction. She has worked recently as an instructor for Lexington Singapore Math School, data researcher for Mathematica and as therapeutic support staff with Childrens' Services of Roxbury. She was 1 of 15 youth workers from Boston selected to participate in the 15-month DeVos Foundation's Urban Leadership Program in 2005. In 2009, she was an awardee of the Women of Courage and Conviction Award from the National Council of Negro Women Greater Boston Chapter. In her time working in the areas of admissions, financial aid and multicultural affairs at a private boarding school, she received commendation for "making significant contributions to the life of the school in the first few years of service."
As an ordained minister, she loves to write music and sing, and currently ministers with the Gospel ensemble, Confirmation. She also loves to bowl, play foosball and various card games, but especially Spades. She and her husband live in Dorchester and have 6 children ages 11 to 23: Tilon, Caleb, David, Stephen, Micah and Jacob.
Job Titles:
- Executive
- Member of the Leadership Team
- Executive Pastor & Co - Founder / Life Group Leader, Sermons, Children 's Church Coordinator
- Executive Pastor & Co - Founder / Life Group Leader, Sunday Bible Study Leader, Sermons, Children 's Church Coordinator
- Media
- Vice President and Asset Manager for Boston Financial Investment Management
Eva Louise Clarke (Gilliam) was born in San Rafael, California. When she was a young girl, her family relocated first to East Saint Louis, Illinois and then to the neighboring town of Belleville. The experience of living in East Saint Louis during the city's stark decline prompted Eva's initial interest in community and economic development. Eva left Belleville in 1977 to attend the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) where she majored in Urban Studies and Planning and earned an S.B. degree. There were a number of Christian influences in her life growing up including her grandmother, aunts and uncles in Chicago, IL. While a student at MIT, Eva gave her life to Christ. Here is her testimony:
Eva's Testimony (how she began following Jesus)
It was at MIT that she also met and married her loving husband Rocklyn E. Clarke Sr.
Eva has enjoyed a fruitful career in the Community and Economic Development arena having served in the following positions:
Asset Manager - Boston Financial Investment Management (2006 - Present)
Program Consultant - Emmanuel Gospel Center (2005 - 2006)
Executive Director - Mattapan Community Development Corporation (2002 - 2005)
Founder and President - Faith Partnership, Inc. (2001 - Present)
Lending Program Officer - Chief Operating Officer (Loan Fund) - Blue Hub Capital (1991 - 2001)
Eva is the Executive Pastor and co-founder of Life Church Ministries in Boston, Massachusetts together with her husband, Rocklyn E. Clarke, the Senior Pastor. She serves as Executive Pastor. Eva was ordained under Church Without Walls International in October 2007 during the annual Covenant Convention of New Covenant Christian Church (now Jubilee Christian Church).
Eva is an alumna of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) (Class of 1981) and received her S.B degree in Urban Studies and Planning there in 1990 after taking some time off raising her family.
Eva and Rocklyn have been blessed with a son, a daughter, their spouses and five grandchildren.
Eva L. Clarke is a Vice President and Asset Manager for Boston Financial Investment Management, a syndicator of investor equity in the low income housing tax credit program. In that capacity since 2006, Eva manages risk in a regional portfolio of multifamily properties and resolves operational, financial and compliance issues.
Eva is also the Executive Pastor of Life Church Ministries in Boston, Massachusetts, which she co-founded in 2003 with her husband, Rocklyn, the Senior Pastor. Eva was ordained in 2007 under Church Without Walls International during the annual Covenant Convention of New Covenant Christian Church (now known as Jubilee Christian Church).
She lives in Dorchester, Massachusetts with her husband. They have a son and a daughter and, as of 2024, five grandchildren.
Eva is an alumna of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) (Class of 1981) and received her S.B degree in Urban Studies and Planning there in 1990 after taking some time off raising her family.
Gayle Baxter (née Thomas) was born on October 23, 1958 to George and Louise Thomas of Roxbury, Mass. She attended Boston Public grammar and middle schools and graduated from Boston Technical High in 1975. In 1978 She pursued a degree in Liberal Arts with a minor in Biology at Boston State College. Her strong desire to promote the physical and emotional healing of others led her to work in healthcare environments as a nursing assistant and mental health counselor, and ultimately to pursue a degree in Nursing at Laboure College.
Realizing that she wanted to specialize in Psychiatric Nursing, Gayle sought employment at Massachusetts Mental Health Center which (a Harvard-teaching hospital). In this setting that she was mentored by experienced mental health practitioners who provided a foundation for her to practice as a psychiatric nurse in both inpatient and outpatient settings (including community nursing).
Gayle has been happily married to William A. Baxter since 1990 and they enjoy growing together in Christ. She aggressively pursues opportunities to grow spiritually in Christ and maintains a healthy lifestyle via gym workouts, aerobic fitness, swimming, skiing, and good nutrition. Her fun pursuits include watching action, adventure, and Sci-fi movies, bowling, and fellowship with brothers and sisters in Christ. She is eager to see how God will use the gifts He has given her to serve His people for the building of His Kingdom.
Gayle began following Christ in 1994 at Holy Tabernacle Church. She then attended New Covenant Christian Church (now Jubilee Christian Church) and found that Christ centered groups helped her to grow spiritually. She and her husband William joined Life Church in 2006 and she currently serves as part of our Ministry Leaders Team.
Job Titles:
- the Perfect Leader Doesn'T Exist
Job Titles:
- Member of the Leadership Team
Job Titles:
- Director of Administration at a Private K12
Job Titles:
- Head of School
- BPS Leader
- Life Group Leader
Ondrea Johnston is the proud Head of School for the newly merged BCLA-McCormack, 7-12 Pilot School.
Ondrea has worked in public education for over 18 years, working in Boston Public Schools for 16 of those years. She has held various roles in the district consisting of middle and high school math teacher, Math Program Director at BLA, Assistant Head of School at BLA, BPS Assistant Director for K-12 Mathematics, and more recently Assistant Principal at the Timilty Middle School.
As a BPS leader, Ondrea has facilitated a social justice in mathematics course for BPS educators and facilitated workshops with a social justice theme at the BPS Teacher Summer Institute and BPS EL Summer Symposium. She has also facilitated such workshops at the DESE Middle Grades Math Institute and presented her work at the DESE Leading with Access and Equity Convening. Furthermore, she has led workshops to instruct teachers for curriculum implementation in mathematics while a member of the BPS Math Office. Currently, she is supporting BPS educators as they work towards completion of the PAL for principal/assistant principal licensure through the BPS PAL Support Program.
Ondrea holds a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and a Bachelor of Arts in Secondary Education from Vanderbilt University. She holds a Master of Liberal Arts in Mathematics from Harvard University and a Certificate of Advanced Graduate Studies in Educational Administration from the University of Massachusetts Boston.
Job Titles:
- Life Group Leader, Preaching / Teaching
Michael was born in Chicago, IL, where he received the Lord in 1980. He was ordained as an American Baptist minister in 1998. He currently helps with Life Group 1, as well as Sunday school classes, as well as being part of the leadership team at Life Church. He also currently implements his accelerated math and science curriculum at Cross Factor Academy, a K-12 private school in Boston, Massachusetts. With over 21 years of teaching experience in math and science, he specializes in high academic achievement for minorities and inner-city youth in math and science. He loves the Lord as well as science fiction, especially Dr. Who and Star Trek, and spending time with his wife Crystal and 6 boys. They currently reside in Dedham, MA.
Job Titles:
- Founder
- Member of the Leadership Team
- Senior Pastor
- Media
Rocklyn was born in New York City and grew up in a loving and nurturing extended family environment. He developed a deep interest in science and mathematics as an elementary school student which led him to The Bronx High School of Science, then one of three math and science oriented exam schools in the New York City public school system. While at Bronx Science, Rocklyn participated in the Columbia University Science Honors Program and attended the Hampshire College Summer Studies in Math (HCSSiM), a program his friends sometimes refer to as "math camp". After graduating in 1976, Rocklyn left New York to attend the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, Massachusetts where he would major in physics.
Rocklyn founded Life Church Ministries in 2003 in Boston, Massachusetts together with his wife Eva, and currently serves as its Senior Pastor. He was ordained as a pastor under Church Without Walls International in October 2002 during the annual Covenant Convention of New Covenant Christian Church (now known as Jubilee Christian Church).
Rocklyn is an alumnus of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) (Class of 1980) and received his S.B degree in Physics there in 1983.
Rocklyn and Eva live in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. They have a son, a daughter, and five grandchildren.
William Baxter was born on November 3, 1959 at Princess Ann County Naval Base in Portsmouth Va. In 1960 his loving parents William and Florita Baxter moved their family to Boston. William attended the Emmanuel House School for nursery and kindergarten, St Francis de Sales and St Johns Grammar schools in Roxbury, Massachusetts, and then The Holy Cross Cathedral High School in the South End of Boston where he excelled in the football and graduated in May of 1978.
In 1979 William began a career in Criminal Justice/ Law Enforcement. He worked for the Dare Family Service in conducting psycho-criminal screenings and transporting juveniles to various state facilities. In 1980, he worked as an Intake Counselor for the Judge John J. Connolly Detention Facility in Roslindale, Massachusetts. In 1983 he was appointed and sworn in by then Sheriff Dennis Kearney as Deputy Sheriff of Suffolk County, and attained the rank of Sergeant Deputy in 1986. In 1989, William became a Patrolman for the City of Boston Police Department and is currently assigned to the Community Service Office as a Youth Service Officer.