• Ministry Assistant: Ruth Gulbranson (612-455-0800 x808)

God brought Gil into the world in 1972. God saved Gil in 1989, at 16 years of age, in a small church just south of Louisville, Kentucky. He soon got involved with the church youth group and continued to grow in his faith.

In 1994, Gil moved to Alpena, Michigan, located in northeast Lower Peninsula, to be involved in a church plant. Sensing an intense desire to follow the call of God, he made a one-year commitment to serve in the areas of music and youth, which spilled over into nine years and many opportunities to depend on God’s mercy. During this time, Gil served in youth work, Bible teaching, worship leading, evangelism and discipleship, and eventually eldership. Five of these years, he worked as a manager at Wal-Mart to support himself. Meanwhile, he completed his B.A. in Elementary Education with a major in Music at Spring Arbor University.

In this setting, God gave Gil the wonderful surprise of meeting JoAnna, who became his bride in May 2002. They spent the first two years of their marriage in Alpena, where they served the Lord together in the same local church. As a bi-vocational elder, Gil taught in the public elementary school system and served as Principal of a local Christian school. Throughout these diverse experiences, God has continued to grow a passion in Gil to help people learn to live in the truth of God’s Word.

In August 2004, the McConnells moved to Minneapolis so that Gil could begin Vocational Elder Training at The Bethlehem Institute. Gil graduated from TBI in May 2007 and currently is pursuing a M.Div. at Southern Seminary. He has been on staff at Bethlehem since 2005 and now serves as our Pastor for Child & Youth Discipleship, while overseeing Family Discipleship ministries at our North Campus.

Gil & JoAnna live in Blaine, with their three children, Sophia, Micah and Joshua. Believing that “children are a heritage from the LORD” (Psalm 127:3), Gil desires to work alongside the families in this local expression of Christ’s Church and beyond, stewarding well this holy heritage by spreading a passion for God’s supremacy for the joy of the next generation through Jesus Christ.