Bryan Chapell, 59, is Senior Pastor of Grace Presbyterian Church in Peoria, IL.  Since 1981, he was at Covenant Theological Seminary in St. Louis where he served as a professor, President and Chancellor. He continues as President Emeritus at Covenant. Before going to the seminary, Chapell pastored two churches, Woodburn Presbyterian Church and Bethel Reformed Presbyterian Church, both in Southern Illinois.

At its opening session on Tuesday, June 17, 2014, the 42^nd General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America elected Dr. Bryan Chapell as Moderator. The PCA General Assembly is holding its annual meeting in the Hilton Americas Convention Hotel in Houston, Texas, June17 – 20.

Bryan Chapell, 59, is Senior Pastor of Grace Presbyterian Church in Peoria, IL.  Since 1981, he was at Covenant Theological Seminary in St. Louis where he served as a professor, President and Chancellor. He continues as President Emeritus at Covenant. Before going to the seminary, Chapell pastored two churches, Woodburn Presbyterian Church and Bethel Reformed Presbyterian Church, both in Southern Illinois. He continues to teach classes on preaching at a number of other seminaries such as Knox, Reformed, Gordon-Conwell, Trinity, and Western.

Raised in Tennessee as the son of a Baptist minister, Chapell received a journalism degree from Northwestern University, a Master of Divinity from Covenant Seminary, and a Ph.D. in Speech Communication from Southern Illinois University.

Chapell has written or contributed to over fifty books, including Christ-Centered Preaching, Christ-Centered Worship, Holiness by Grace, Praying Backwards, Each for the Other: Marriage as It’s Meant to Be, and a children’s book, I’ll Love You Anyway and Always.

His commitment to the church is demonstrated in Dr. Chapell’s service in a number of positions in the Presbyterian Church in America: on the Standing Judicial Commission, the Committee on Constitutional Business, the Overtures Committee, the Committee on Educational Standards, and the Strategic Planning Committee. Further, he has represented the PCA at the General Assemblies of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, and the Reformed Presbyterian Church in North America. In his Presbytery, he served as Moderator, Chairman of the Church Planting Committee, and Chairman of the Candidates and Credentials Committee.

He is presently serves on the International Leadership Committees of the Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization, and represents Evangelical Protestant Pastors of North America in discussions with the Chinese Government on Christian Church Relationships.

Chapell and his wife, Kathleen Gabriel Chapell, have been married for 36 years. They have led seminars for couples in ministry at the PCA’s General Assembly and in other settings arranged by Women in the Church and various churches. The Chapells have three married children – Colin, Jordan and Corinne, all in leadership ministries of PCA churches and all graduates of Covenant College, and a daughter, Katy, currently at Covenant College.