David and Jeanette Bissell are warm, down-to-earth, personable and family oriented. Being the parents of three sons, and having been in educational as well as pastoral ministry, they bring a wealth of experience to us. Before coming to Cedar Rapids, they spent eight years in Asia where they taught in universities in Korea. Most recently they taught at Hong Kong Adventist College where David served as the college president for a short time before returning to the USA.

Jeanette is talented musically and adds an inspirational touch to the worship service. She has been a choir director, piano teacher and church musician in several different settings. She has worked for Methodist and Lutheran churches as an organist and director of music. Being the mother of three sons has been her first love. David loves to preach from the Word. Early in life he became a prodigal, having felt his Father's home was boring and legalistic. When he was in his second year of college, he discovered that life on his own was not nearly as exciting as he had expected. He was "without God and without hope in the world". In an evangelistic series, he decided to give his life to Christ and become a pastor.

However, some of the habits he developed when he was outside of Christ continued to plague him and for that reason he decided to leave the ministry for a period of time. For two years he floundered until he came to the place where he had to "look up to see bottom". It was then in desperation that he turned to the Lord, asking for a miracle. God heard his prayer and from that day on the Lord set him free and healed him from the inside out. One of His favorite sayings is "when I look at myself, I don't see how I can be saved, but when I look at Christ, I don't see how I can be lost".

Pastor Bissell emphasizes the grace of God and His awesome power and love. He believes that worship should be a dynamic encounter with God. It should be participative and creative. God is a creative God and we should worship Him in Spirit and in Truth. Pastor Dave tells it like it is but when he points out sin, he does not believe in preaching you into hell with no escape. Some refer to him as a pastor of "hope" perhaps it is because he believes that "love always hopes, always trusts and always wins".

His favorite book in the Bible is Ephesians and one of the themes of his ministry is based upon Paul's prayer. "For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and earth is named that according to the riches of His glory, he may grant you to be strengthened with might in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, that you being rooted and grounded in love may have the power to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God."

Pastor Dave loves to preach exegetical sermons form the Word and seeks to emulate men like Chuck Swindoll and others that draw their themes from scripture. He loves memorizing the Bible and advocates spiritual disciplines. He feels that our most important activity should be to "become thick with the Almighty". He is also musical and enjoys playing the saxophone and singing. Often he leads our worship team in praise music. We think you will find healing and hope in worshiping with us.