Sunday Service 10:00am - Live on Facebook & YouTube: Braden River Presbyterian Church
About our leaders
Pastor Dr Rev Bruce Hedgepeth
Bruce is excited to be at Braden River Presbyterian and participate in what God is doing here! He looks forward to friendships within the church family and to connecting with the community. In addition to serving as pastor at BRPC, Bruce is also on staff with Young Life in Latin America/Caribbean, serving as the Team Lead for Expeditions (short-term mission trips). He is an ordained PC(USA) Teaching Elder and minister member of Peace River Presbytery. Bruce has served in pastoral roles for 23-plus years in four different PC(USA) churches in Florida. His main areas of ministry emphasis have been in preaching, worship (traditional, modern, etc…) and outreach, with a special passion for missions – in the local community, across the nation, and around the world. He loves leading short-term mission teams to Latin America, which is what he gets to do in his role with Young Life in non-pandemic times.
Bruce received his undergraduate degree from Stetson University in DeLand, Florida in 1983; earned the Masters of Divinity degree from the University of Dubuque Theological Seminary in Dubuque, Iowa in 1995; and completed a Doctor of Ministry degree in Global Ministries at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California in 2002.
He and his wife, Cindy, have been married since 1982 and they have two young adult children: Will and Kate (named them long before the royals got married!) Kate is married to Brett and they have an eighteen-month-old son named Walker, which makes Bruce a proud grandpa. Bruce is a runner (pretty good) and a golfer (pretty bad). He and Cindy enjoy travel and spending time with friends and family.
Pastoral Intern John Frazee
John is an ordained elder in the PCUSA and a member of Trinity Presbyterian Church in Venice, Florida. John is currently under care and guidance of Peace River Presbytery as part of the studying and practical training for pastoral office. John is excited about his internship at Braden Presbyterian Church and honored to be working in partnership with Rev. Dr. Bruce Hedgepeth.
Prior to his vocational calling, John enjoyed a career in progressively challenging leadership roles, in both public and private organizations, responsible for leading strategic and creative teams in marketing and communication initiatives for numerous Fortune 500 brands. John’s greatest satisfaction has been working with many uniquely creative people throughout his career and forming many lifelong friendships.
John and his wife Kristy have been married since 2006 and are blessed with two children; Julianna and Jacob. Kristy is a school teacher and actively participates in helping to support faith-based programs for children. The family spends much of their time together and is active in travel baseball with their son Jacob and the music arts with Julianna.
John received his undergraduate degree in advertising and design from the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York, New York in 1990; earned his Master’s in Business Administration at University of Texas Dallas, in Dallas, Texas in 2003; and is currently in enrolled in seminary studies at Dubuque Theological Seminary in Dubuque, Iowa where he expects to earn a Master’s in Divinity.