Dr. P.C. Verghese
The Answers to Life Conference welcomes Dr. P.C. Verghese as this year's keynote speaker. This year marks the fourth time Dr. Verghese has presented at the conference.
Born in Kerala, India, in a Syrian Christian family in 1937, Dr. P.C. Verghese was converted from "Christianity" to Christ in 1957, while studying Law at the Madras Law College.
He spent his early years as a follower of Jesus Christ at the Madras Inter-Collegiate Evangelical Union. In 1959, he was called to serve in ministry full time. He started his work in 1960 amongst university students through the Union of Evangelical Students of India (UESI). He served on the staff of UESI for 25 years, pioneering work in the cities of Trivandrum, Madurai and Allahabad.
He is an ordained elder of St. Andrews Church (Kirk) at Egmore, Chennai.
Presently, he is based in Chennai, as a minister of the Bible, and is involved in teaching the Bible both in India and abroad.
In November 2012, he was awarded the degree of Doctorate of Philosophy (Honoris Causa) in Theology by the Sam Higginbottom Institute of Agriculture, Technology and Sciences, Allahabad (formerly Allahabad Agricultural University), where he served for many years amongst the students.
Dr. P.C. Verghese is married to Sara, and he has four daughters and three grandsons.
Elisha Rimestad
Pastor Elisha is lead pastor of First Baptist Church, Mira Mesa. Pastor Elisha will be helping with Q&A sessions and more.
In Pastor Elisha's words:
I was born and raised in a Christian home while growing up in California.
I surrendered my life to the ministry when I was in high school. I earned my B.A. in Biblical Counseling from The Master’s College and my M.Div. from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky.
On Sunday, December 6th 2009, I accepted the call to be the Lead Pastor here at FBCMM.
I married my high school sweetheart, Candice, and we have four wonderful kids together – JohnMark, Joshua, Grace, & Luke!
I enjoy spending time with my wife and doing all sorts of fun stuff with my kiddos.
I love music, the outdoors, and of course sports! I am an avid Boston Celtics fan and my favorite show on TV right now is “PTI” – or as my wife would call it “Sports Gossip!”