BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH -- FRED G. ZASPEL

Pastor Fred was for many years pastor of Word of Life Baptist Church here in Pottsville and adjunct professor of New Testament at Penn State University (Schuylkill Campus). He is now a part of the pastoral ministry of Reformed Baptist Church of Franconia, PA, and instructor in Bible and theology at To Every Tribe Ministries in Brownsville, TX. He is a third generation Christian, the son of Baptist pastor / evangelist Dr. James A. Zaspel. Pastor Fred was converted to Christ and baptized at an early age. During his teen years he sensed God's gifting to the preaching and teaching ministry, and since that time he has pursued further education to equip him for it. He has studied at Bob Jones University (Greenville, SC), Denver Baptist Theological Seminary (Denver, CO), Valley Baptist Theological Seminary (Minneapolis, MN), Biblical Theological Seminary (Hatfield, PA), and the Pennsylvania State University. He holds a B.A. in Bible, with a minor in Greek (1980); an M.A. in Pastoral Studies (1981), an M.A. (with honors) in New Testament (1993), a Th.M. (with highest honors) in New Testament (1994), and a Ph.D. in Theology (2010). His studies have concentrated in the various fields of Biblical-related study such as Greek, Hebrew, Theology, Church History, Ancient History and Archaeology. Among his awards is Biblical Seminary's coveted certificate for excellence in Greek exegesis (1993). He is the author of a series of booklets published by the Interdisciplinary Biblical Research Institute (IBRI), entitled, The Continuing Relevance of Divine Law (1991); The Theology of Fulfillment (1994); Jews, Gentiles, & the Goal of Redemptive History (1996). Along with Tom Wells, Pastor Fred has co-authored a major work entitled New Covenant Theology (New Covenant Media). His most recent works are The Theology of B. B. Warfield: A Systematic Summary (Crossway), The New Covenant and New Covenant Theology (New Covenant Media), and B. B. Warfield on the Christian Life: Living in Light of the Gospel (forthcoming, Crossway). He is the author of many other booklets and articles.

Fred and his wife, Kimberly, were married in 1979 in Columbus, Ohio (Kim's home), and have two grown children: Gina and Jim. All four love and serve Christ together, and they love to say with thankfulness that God has made their's the happiest family ever.

Pastor Fred's other loves, for which he seldom finds time, include motorcycles (which the family enjoys with him), his Taylor guitar (which he really doesn't do justice), and boating (which doesn't -- and couldn't! -- happen often enough).