Our Team
Living Stones Associates is a network of independent consultants/coaches guided by a common vision, who work together to help churches become healthier and increase ministry effectiveness.
Ray Bowman, Founder
After thirty years as an architect, designing various kinds of buildings
including church buildings, Ray Bowman left his architectural firm in 1980
to begin a ministry of consulting with churches. (Read the story in
chapter 1 of When
Not to Build.) Over the next few years, Ray used his
architectural expertise to help churches avoid unnecessary building.
Learning from each church he worked with, within a few years Ray had learned
how to help most churches make their buildings work well for a congregation
two to three times the size for which it had been originally designed.
By applying Ray's approach, growing churches were able to get out of debt
and stay out of debt, even through major building programs.
His articles have appeared in more than 40 periodicals including Leadership, Your Church, Ministries Today, and Clergy Journal. He is coauthor with Eddy Hall of When Not to Build.
Now semi-retired, Ray continues to mentor the other members of the consulting team he founded and to collaborate with them on consultations from his studio in Olathe, Kansas.
Eddy Hall, Senior Consultant/Coach
With ministry experience that includes directing an inner city ministry,
youth ministry, extensive writing and editing, denominational staff ministry,
and more than 25 years in small group ministry, Eddy began working with
Ray Bowman in 1986, collaborating with Ray on all his articles and books.
In 1996, Eddy joined the consulting team and now devotes full-time to consulting
with churches.
In addition to coauthoring When Not to Build, Eddy has also coauthored When There's No Burning Bush and other books. His articles have appeared in about 120 periodicals including Leadership, Guideposts, Campus Life, and Focus on the Family Magazine.
Eddy leads the team in carrying on Ray's pioneering work in facility utilization and planning. Drawing on his training (a degree in Christian education) and 30 years of varied ministry leadership experience, Eddy has greatly expanded the services the team offers in strategic ministry planning, enhancing church health, and coaching professional and lay leaders. He lives in Goessel, Kansas. He and his wife, Melody, have five children, three still at home.
Gary Diehl, Consultant/Coach
Assuming a broad array of lay leadership responsibilities in his home church
for the last twenty years has given Gary a hands-on perspective of many
ministry functions within the church. With a career in business and a passion
to teach God's Word, Gary is a frequent speaker for churches, business gatherings,
leadership and youth retreats, men's groups, and civic organizations.
A formative ministry experience was working with his congregation's Vision Team as they wrestled with questions about growth, health, buildings, and what God wanted for the church. Gary was introduced to the practical principles of When Not to Build as he served as his church's coordinator for a Living Stones consultation in 1998.
Gary began consulting with churches in 2001 out of a growing conviction that many churches need wise, comprehensive, biblical counsel to become healthy and relevant in the 21st century. He and his wife Nancy live in Alliance, Ohio. They have four children and two grandchildren.
Greg Peterson, Consultant/Facility Specialist
Greg Peterson has been a registered architect for 30 years, currently serving
as principal and owner of Intelligent Design Group LLC, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
He has also served as principal and owner with SCHQA in Boise, Idaho; The
Hillier Group in Princeton, New Jersey; and Baker & Associates in Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania. He is licensed in fifteen states and certified by the National
Council of Architectural Registration Boards.
Greg has served as a lay leader and council member in his home church, helping to guide it in accommodating growth while maintaining spiritual health and a ministry focus. He uses his expertise in planning, programming, and design to guide churches in the wise use of resources to achieve their mission. He joined Living Stones Associate in 2001.
Lavern Holdeman, Consultant/Coach
Lavern Holdeman is a former attorney turned pastor. He currently serves
as executive pastor of Community Convenant Church in Omaha, Nebraska, with
primary responsibilities for church and ministry administration. He has
nearly twenty-five years' experience as a pastor and as an officer and
director of non-profit organizations. He earned his M.A. in Philosophy
of Religion from Denver Seminary and a Juris Doctor degree from the
University of Nebraska School of Law. Lavern has a passion for discipleship
and church health coaching, and has taught courses in philosophy, ethics,
apologetics, comparative religion, and spiritual formation as adjunct
faculty at Denver Seminary and Metro State College of Denver, and at the
Omaha campus of the University of Phoenix.
Lavern has been working with Living Stones since 2001. He lives in Omaha, Nebraska, with his wife Karen and one daughter, Jamie. His growing family includes two adult daughters and three grandchildren
Mike Hare, Consultant/Coach
Mike Hare has been in pastoral ministry since 1980, serving congregations
in New York, Vermont, Oklahoma, Colorado, and California. He has specialized
in guiding declining and plateaued churches through a turnaround process.
He also served as a conflict resolution team member with the Center for
Conflict Resolution in Pasadena, working with churches and non-profit organizations
in a conflict intervention ministry.
Mike is ordained with the Evangelical Free Church of America and is currently completing a Ph.D. in Conflict Analysis and Resolution at Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. His dissertation focuses on the development of biblical models for redeeming conflict in churches and Christian organizations. He joined the Living Stones team in 2003 in anticipation of an expanded church consulting ministry following the completion of his degree work. Mike, his wife Colleen, and their four children live in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Tom Gibson, Consultant/Facility Specialist
Tom joined the Living Stones team in 1999 after working for 14 years with
a Fortune 100 corporation. As the national director of remodels, managing
the design and construction departments, Tom specialized in bringing the
corporation's visions to a reality. He is also a licensed contractor.
In 2004 he became a project manager for Cogun, Inc., one of the leading church building and expansion specialists in the eastern United States. In his work with both Cogun and Living Stones, Tom draws on his years of professional experience to guide churches toward creative, cost-effective facility solutions. He lives in Parker, Pennsylvania, with is wife Laura and three children.
Ken Dean, Consultant/Coach/Facility Specialist
Ken is the Executive Pastor of Fellowship Bible Church in Little Rock,
Arkansas. He draws on a wide range of experience in his consulting
with churches. He has served as a managing principal for a company specializing
in church
construction, as the superintendent of a Christian school, as a loan underwriter
for church projects, and as chair of his church's deacon board. He has
hosted
a Church Communications Network (CCN) broadcast on church facilities development
as part of the Leadership Network Innovation Series. His writing has
appeared
in Outreach Magazine, The Church Report, Church Executive, and Church Business.
Ken earned a BA from Texas Tech University and a Masters of Education from the University of Texas at Arlington. He lives in Little Rock with his wife Margaret.
Phil Ludeke, Consultant/Coach/Facility Specialist
Phil Ludeke has spent 20 years practicing architecture and planning and 18 years
as a real estate developer and consultant. He is self-employed and holds a
license to practice real estate in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Phil is a
licensed architect in four states, is certified by the National Council of
Architectural Registration Boards, and is a Certified LEED Accredited
Professional with the United States Green Building Council.
Phil is an ordained elder in the Presbyterian Church, USA, and has served in a variety of capacities in his home church. He is a trained Equipper in Stephen Ministry's ChristCare Small Group Ministry. He has also served on long range planning committees, chaired a pastor nominating committee, taught Christian education, leads a small men's group, and served on his church's Church Health Team after a consultation with LSA. He has been working with the Living Stones team since 2004. Phil lives with his wife of 38 years, Becky, in Hopewell, NJ. They have three sons, one of whom is still in high school.
Charles Quinn, Consultant/Finance Specialist
Charles Quinn has spent the last 12 years in various leadership positions on the
staff of the National Association of Black Accountants, Joint Aid Management (hunger relief),
and Catholic Charities, where he is currently a senior accountant. He earned a BBA
in Accounting from Howard University in Washington, DC, and qualified as a Competent
Toastmaster with an international public speaking society. He began his career working
for a "Big-Six" accounting firm, during which time he became certified as a public
accountant. Charles leads seminars and classes on family budgeting and biblical
financial concepts, and has served as a Sunday School teacher and church elder.
He began an apprenticeship with Living Stones in the fall of 2007.
Charles lives in the Kansas City area with his wife, Danielle, and their three children.
Peggy Heid, Consultant/Coach
Peggy's passion for the church has made her a long-time student of church health. She has lived out her
calling by providing leadership in many aspects of church life over the past 27 years. She and her husband,
Brent, served as core team members for two church plants. Peggy has developed strategies for welcoming
and connecting newcomers into the life of the church, given leadership to outreach and communications,
and served in worship and children's ministries. Through handling the financial affairs of the family
corporation, Peggy gained the expertise to serve as church treasurer and chair the Stewardship Team in
her local church. She also drew on her expertise in facility design and construction to serve as the
general contractor for her church's building program.
Peggy joined the Living Stones team in 2008. She and Brent live in Harrisonville, Missouri. They have four sons - one married, one in college, and two teenagers at home.