MY LIFE SO FAR


Hi, my name is Glenn Gohr. I live in Springfield, Missouri, which is in the heart of the Ozarks and often is called the buckle of the Bible belt. I've considered this my home ever since 1980.

I love the slow-paced life, the friendly people, the strong Christian ethics, the green hilly landscape, and the local history found here.

I was born in Cheyenne, Wyoming in 1957, and moved to Wichita Falls, Texas in August 1958. I was raised there in "tornado alley" (In Texas we always said "raised" not "reared") and also experienced dust storms and 110+ degree weather in the summer times. Raised (there's that word again) in a Christian home, I accepted Christ as my personal Savior on September 8, 1972. Later I joined the Assemblies of God fellowship. To learn more about my spiritual background and testimonies view my spiritual life page.

After graduating from Midwestern State University (at Wichita Falls) with a B.A. in English in December 1979, I attended Christ for the Nations Bible Institute at Dallas, Texas for one semester. From there I came to Springfield, Missouri to attend the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary in the fall of 1980. I graduated with a Master of Divinity degree on June 7, 1984. My wife and I met in the church singles group and were married two days after graduation on June 9, 1984.

My wife, Marion, has called this her hometown since 1978. And she traveled about as far as I did to get here. She was born in San Bernardino, California and attended a Christian school there. Her family moved to Conway, Missouri in 1972, and she graduated from Conway High School in 1977 (Conway, Missouri, is a small hamlet about 40 miles east of Springfield).

Her parents, Bill and Joy Brown, live on a farm about 2 miles west of Conway on the old historic Route 66 and are now both retired. Their farm once was a dairy farm, but now is the home to around 100 head of beef cattle. They attend the First Baptist Church at Conway where my father-in-law, Bill Brown, is a deacon. First Baptist Church at Conway recently celebrated its 120th anniversary, and I contributed an article to the Conway Chronicles about the history of the church and the anniversary. The Conway Chronicles are online, so you may view the article by clicking on the First Baptist Church Celebrates 120 Years.

Marion has one brother, Doug Brown, who lives on adjacent property to her folks. Doug and his wife, Geri, have two children, Mark and Kristy Brown. In the past, Doug has been involved in the Dairy Business. He graduated from Southwest Missouri State University with a degree in wildlife conservation. He currently works for a construction company in Springfield that sets up gas tanks and pumps for service stations. Geri is a science teacher and teaches at Strafford High School.

Marion's Uncle Bob Henry (her mom's brother) lives just up the road from my in-laws, and Bob's son, Kenny Henry, lives on some acres next to him. It is pretty much a close-knit family. Uncle Bob and Aunt Myrt also have two daughters and families who live here in Springfield, so we all keep in touch on a regular basis.

Marion and I have two wonderful sons of our own that we are very proud of.

My wife comes from a small family. She only has 4 first cousins (Her dad is an only child, and her mother only has 2 brothers). But I, on the other hand, come from a huge family with a long history. I have 2 sisters--Margery Bartell of San Antonio, Texas who is married and has 4 children; and Alice Kettner of Jacob, Illinois, who is married and has 3 children. One brother, Fred Gohr, passed away in 1974 from a mountain climbing accident when he was camping near Mount Rushmore.

My father, Lawrence Gohr, is one of 13 children. My mother, Hazel (Harris) Gohr is one of 8 children. The Gohrs and the Harrises all believed in having medium to large size families. The result is that I have over 50 first cousins! My parents retired and moved to Monte Vista, Colorado, a small village in the heart of the "Sunny" San Luis Valley in southern Colorado in 1980, which is the same year I moved to Springfield, Missouri.

I am an ordained minister with the Assemblies of God and currently work in the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center which keeps all the historical records relating to the Assemblies of God denomination. Should you wish to e-mail me there, click on the following link for my e-mail address at work: Work E-mail

Currently the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center is enjoying its new office space near the entrance of the National Headquarters of the Assemblies of God located at 1445 Boonville Avenue in Springfield, Missouri. The new facilities include a new state-of-the-art interactive museum depicting the history of the Assemblies of God from its founding in 1914 up to the present. The free standing exhibits, kiosks with push button video clips, and photograph displays were designed and implemented by Lynch Exhibits (7 Campus Drive, Burlington, NJ 08016, ph. 609-387-1600), a renowned museum company located in Burlington, New Jersey. This same company built the Billy Graham Center Museum at Wheaton College, Wheaton, Illinois.

Dedication services were held on January 19, 1999, so we have been in our new facilities for about 3 years now. Quite a few visitors have enjoyed seeing the museum and watching a new video about the Assemblies of God called "History in the Making." I am also copy editor for Assemblies of God Heritage magazine, a quarterly historical journal which is published by the Archives. I've written numerous religious and historical articles, daily devotions, and the like.

The biggest news at the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center is the advent of our new web site dedicated to the history of the Assemblies of God and related Pentecostal groups. The new site includes access to all of the cataloged holdings of the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center, online scanned images of every issue of the Pentecostal Evangel from 1913 to the present--over 10,000 pages of material, access to our photograph collection of more than 16,000 photos (with thumbnails and a way to download photos directly through the internet with a credit card and permission form), a walking tour of our museum, and other items too numerous to list. The site opened to the public on August 1, 2000.

In addition to my work and church duties related above, in the past I have edited two family newsletters, Quirams Unlimited and Wolvertons Unlimited. I also manage several e-mail discussion groups and Message Boards through Rootsweb and am active in the Ozarks Genealogical Society located in Springfield, Missouri. In 1997 I also became the founding president of the Neville Heritage Society which publishes the Neville Heritage Review and has a very active presence on the World Wide Web and other places as far as genealogy research on the Neville family in North America and abroad. I have two links to the Neville family--one to the American progenitor John Neville who immigrated to Maryland on the Ark and the Dove in 1634; and a second link through the Swain family back to the English Nevilles who intermarried with the Royal Family and was very active in the Wars of the Roses.

I am also a past president of the Ozark Mountain Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution where I have been involved in marking graves of a number of Revolutionary War Soldiers in Southwest Missouri and am active in the local color guard which involves wearing a Revolutionary War uniform to promote the SAR.

In the past I've taught English Composition part-time at Central Bible College and Evangel College both located in Springfield, Missouri. While attending seminary, I spent two summers as a Park Minister with A Christian Ministry in the National Parks. During the summer of 1980 I worked in the housekeeping department at the historic Timberline Lodge, part of a ski resort on top of Mount Hood, Oregon and conducted services there on Sundays with ACMNP. (This was during the time that Mount St. Helens erupted, and there was talk that Mount Hood might do the same. One highlight of that summer was spending one day cleaning up volcano ash from the parking lot of a business in Portland where one of my cousins was a manager.) During the summer of 1982 I worked at the Morefield Store and held services in the Morefield outdoor amphitheater at Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado.

Several years ago I assisted my friends Paul and Janet O'Neil as they pastored Soul's Harbor Assembly of God here in Springfield which was mostly a ministry to children and included puppets, crafts, Bible studies, outings, and the like. Throughout the years I have been active in the church choir. For eight years I taught the Straight Arrows class at my church for 5 and 6-year-old Royal Rangers. Currently I am teaching the Ranger Kids class with Royal Rangers (Kindergarten through 2nd grade) at church.

For a couple years I served as an online facilitator for Global University's Virtual Study Center.

Global University is an accredited distance education school affiliated with the Assemblies of God. It offers correspondence and internet courses which are a necessary course of training for Assemblies of God ministers. It also offers Bible courses for personal study and enrichment for anyone who is interested.

Global University was formed from a merger of Berean University with ICI University, which was another accredited distance education school administered by the Assemblies of God and was located in Irving, Texas. In the past, ICI University catered to the needs of Bible school students and laymen overseas while Berean University catered mostly to students in the United States. With the erection of a new campus which was completed in June of 2000, the new name is Global University, and the new school is located in Springfield, Missouri.

The first internet course I taught with Berean was The Life of Christ. This lasted for 10 weeks during the summer of 1998. In the fall of 1998 I am served as the facilitator for another Berean virtual study course called The History and Polity of the Assemblies of God.

My photograph and profile as a college instructor is included on Berean's webpage. The courses includes online chat and live audio chat through a feature called LearnLinc which is a product of the Ilinc company, which is a leader in instructor-led online learning. Berean University (the name of the school at that time) is featured briefly in an article called "How ILINC Combines Distance Learning and Computer-based Training to Extend the Reach of Education ," by Kathleen Maher as found in Interactivity Magazine, August, 1998. This can be viewed on Ilinc's Web Page by following the link to Ilinc in the News.

In the spring of 1999 I served as the facilitator for the course, History of Assemblies of God Missions, which may be taken for college credit. I also facilitated an 18-week course on Old Testament Survey which lasted during the summer and fall of 1999. My next courses will be in the fall of 2000.

Another big event in 2000 was the 50th wedding anniversary of my parents, Lawrence and Hazel Gohr. They were married June 14, 1950 (Flag Day) at Dove Creek, Colorado. We 3 kids, spouses, 9 grandkids, and extended family and friends celebrated with them on June 17th, 2000 at Monte Vista, Colorado. We had a big turn out, with photo displays, a sing-along and talent show, lots of visiting, and an all around good time.

2003 brought the 50th anniversary of Bill and Joy Brown, my wife�s parents. They chose an outdoor setting at the White Buffalo Resort in Arkansas with 10 of us staying in a cabin and enjoying cruises on 2 rivers that meet. It was a beautiful setting and a nice time.

What will the future hold? I believe in living life to the fullest. Life to me is precious. I try to make each and every day count. First, I want to live my life for Christ, who died on the cross to forgive me of my sins. Second, I want to live for others to bless their lives and assist in any way possible. Third, I want to enrich my own life and live it to the fullest. This can best be remembered through the word JOY--Jesus, Others, Yourself. In my spare time I enjoy writing articles, any type of Christian work, spending time with my wife and kids, doing genealogy, and playing the piano.



Copyright � 1998-2005.

Last updated April 6, 2005.


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