Doug Peterman has stood the test of time at Green Bay Community Church. He and his wife Shelley started attending GBCC in 1988. Doug served in Dessert Theater for all but two years of its run, has been an elder for several years and has worked on staff as facilities director since 2014. Doug talks about his time at GBCC.
Why did you get involved in Dessert Theater?
I did it because it was a real energizing outreach. The whole church got involved. I auditioned and got parts. It was a lot of work but it was a time of real fellowship, a time of everybody really pulling together. It was a powerful time of working hard to accomplish something that drew the community in and was a blast to do.
Was it sad to see Dessert Theater end?
It was like our Super Bowl. We knew it was going to end. You wish it never would end but you had a sense, it had its season of 12 or 13 years and that you just knew. You were running out of energy and resources and people to pull it off. It had a necessary ending.
What kind of impact has GBCC had on you?
Our best friendships and relationships have come from being part of this church. Our spiritual growth has happened because of our life here at this church and those relationships. Some of the greatest experiences and time of my life have happened in this church.
We put roots down here and experienced different comings and goings. People have lived different stages of life with us, through the adoption of our kids, to Dessert Theater, through health issues, through serving with Bible studies. We’ve always had a different season, different connections, different opportunities.
From an elder’s perspective, how do you view GBCC?
GBCC is still a welcoming place, serious about God, wanting to get people connected to God and others. But the ways and means of doing that have changed and evolved. People have come and gone but God keeps bringing new people. I still see the same awakening experience where people come to faith in Christ and eventually they get plugged in and begin to grow and become part of the leadership, missional legacy of this church.
