About Gary and Jorie Gulbranson
Gary and Jorie Gulbranson have been ministering together since their marriage in 1973. They first served at Glen Ellen Bible Church outside of Chicago, where Gary accepted the position of Senior Pastor after completing his doctoral degree. Following that exciting time of seeing the church grow and become an influence in the community, they accepted a call to Westminster Chapel, in Bellevue, WA, outside of Seattle. Gary served as Senior Pastor for 27 years, and currently holds title of Pastor Emeritus.
Most recently, they accepted a call to Friendship Church in Palm Desert, CA, where Gary serves as Senior Pastor. They founded Hope Now Ministries (HopeNow-ministries.org) to provide biblical hope and healing to people and organizations through counseling, consulting, teaching, and providing seminars and resources.
Gary has a wide and varied academic and business background:
Graduate and Professor at Moody Bible Institute, Chicago, Illinois
B.A. Trinity University, Deerfield, Illinois
M.Div. Denver Seminary, Denver, Colorado
Ed.D. Loyola University, Chicago, Illinois
He was a Vice President at the Burdyke Real Estate Management Company in South Holland, Illinois, for 7 years while doing doctoral studies.
For many years he served on the boards of Denver Seminary, Greater Europe Mission, Chicagoland Youth for Christ, Leadership Design Group, Alpha International, and First Savings and Load of South Holland, Illinois. Gary has been a speaker and consultant for the Servicemaster Corporation and the Rotary Service Club and is the co-author of Mastering Pastoral Counseling (Multnomah Books, 1991).
Jorie is a teacher who loves kids of all ages. She has taught preschool through high school. For many years she served on the board of Wheaton Academy, Wheaton, Illinois, and Christian Women’s Clubs. She is also a retreat and conference speaker, and often she and Gary work together speaking and counseling.
She is a graduate of Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, Illinois; Trinity University in Deerfield, Illinois, and taken some graduate classes at Denver Seminary in Denver, Colorado.
Gary and Jorie love their roles as parents and mentors to their adult children, grandchildren, and extended family. Their youngest daughter, Marisa and her husband, are involved in church ministry in Seattle, and have two teenagers. Their oldest daughter, Marci, passed away suddenly from unknown causes in 1998 at the age 23 a few short months after her marriage. The loss of their daughter, has opened up a ministry of counseling and bringing healing from the Holy Spirit to many who have gone through tragedy, grief, and loss. They have literally had the opportunity to share their story with people in over 20 countries around the world.
Romans 5:5 remains their theme, “Hope does not disappoint…”