The Shepherd Church
The Shepherd Church
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    • Home
    • Mission
    • About/Contacts
    • Faith/Beliefs
    • Services/Prayers
    • Calendar/Giving
  • Home
  • Mission
  • About/Contacts
  • Faith/Beliefs
  • Services/Prayers
  • Calendar/Giving

WHO WE ARE & CONTACTS

Lead Pastor – Peter Pritchard

Lead Pastor – Peter Pritchard

Lead Pastor – Peter Pritchard

Peter Pritchard gave his life to the Lord at the age of 14 in his hometown of Bay Village, with the support of the global ministry to teenagers, Young Life. In May of 1999, Peter graduated with his Master of Divinity degree from Ashland Theological Seminary, was given the ‘Outstanding Spiritual Formation’ award, and was ordained the following morning. He has served as a Deacon, Elder, Associate Pastor, Senior pastor, counselor, worship leader and friend in the ministry. Additionally, his book ‘Resisting Potiphar’s Wife’ (nationally recognized by President of ‘Living Waters,’ Emeal Zwayne, and Biblical/Cultural Commentator Larry Tomczak) was produced in 2020 and is distributed via Amazon and Barnes & Noble. The book is a 31-day Biblical Devotional designed to aid men in purity matters of heart, mind, and eyes. Peter has a heart for evangelism, hoping and praying to be used of God, at all times, to influence seekers to find the hope and truth and salvation that may be theirs in Jesus Christ. He is married to June and has 4 adult children – Carolyn, Faith, Grace, and Peter.

Associate Pastor – John Allen

Lead Pastor – Peter Pritchard

Lead Pastor – Peter Pritchard

John Allen submitted to the Lordship of Jesus as a young adult in 1979. For 15 years, he served as a Deacon (including Chairman of Deacons) in a Southern Baptist church, and then as a founding Elder of a non-denominational church plant in Portsmouth, Virginia. After graduating from the USCG Academy, John served as an officer in the United States Coast Guard for 20 years; and then worked for another 20+ years for a non-profit housing and financial counseling agency in southeastern Virginia. John earned a Master’s Degree in Counseling from Liberty University and is passionate about helping people with relationship and “God” issues. He also has a heart for bridge-building between various Christian groups and local churches for the glory of God and advancement of Christ’s Kingdom. John and his wife Becky relocated to NE Ohio in 2020. They have 3 adult children – Caleb, Rachel and Hannah living in Pennsylvania, Arizona, and Virginia respectively.

Founding Elder – Harry Bound

Lead Pastor – Peter Pritchard

Founding Elder – Harry Bound

Harry Bound has been walking with Jesus as his Lord and Savior for over 50 years and been in Christian service since 1974. Harry has served as a Sunday school teacher, as head of Evangelism, Deacon, Elder, and head of Alpha programs in his church, ministered in the ‘Rescuing the Perishing’ ministry (feeding and clothing the homeless of Cleveland), and is mentoring  boys at an inner-city high school. To this day (and concurrent to his leadership in The Shepherd’s Church), Harry is one of 4 Elders leading the ecumenical (once a month) mid-week worship service ministry, ‘The Praise Community). Harry’s fervent heart for the Word of God has him in a weekly teaching rotation of an interstate online men’s Bible study. Straight from high school, Harry honorably served his country in the United States Navy. After his Navy education and service, he had a 45-year career in the computer industry; first as a Systems Engineer and then as an Account Executive. He is married to Linda and together have 3 adult children (Paul, Kathleen and Jessica) and 6 grandchildren.

Elders & Contacts

Peter O. Pritchard - Lead Pastor:  Cell: (440) 344-1670 • PeterOPritchard@Gmail.com

John J. Allen - Associate Pastor & Counseling Ministry:  Cell: (757) 373-9567 • JJA23321@Gmail.com

Harry Bound - Founding Elder: Cell: (440) 773-4785 • TSCElder@Gmail.com

External Church Advisory Council (ECAC)

This council is made up of three faithful men with proven spiritual maturity, wisdom and integrity. They are outside of our local church and tasked with providing objective Biblical/spiritual consultation and support, and for providing accountability… adhering to the belief that no local church should be an island (unaccountable congregation and ministry) unto itself.


Rick Widener

Rick is ‘Pastor Emeritus’ and current Elder of Harvest Christian Church in Elyria, Ohio. Rick is also an Elder and Ministry Consultant with ‘The Table Fellowship,’ Association on likeminded and like-hearted churches with a shared vision for the Kingdom of God. Rick has had a relationship to the Elders in various contexts for over 40 years, and we have found him to be a man of impeccable character, sound Biblical judgment and profound love for others. Being local to the greater Cleveland region, Rick has already been available in ways very helpful to us and very appreciated by us.


Paul Laursen

Paul Laursen has served churches in Iowa, Ohio and New York. Since the early 1990’s he has been involved in foreign missions work, going fulltime with Accelerating International Missions Strategies (AIMS) in 2008. He has had the privilege of establishing, with teams of leaders, two ministry training centers in northeast Ohio. He has served on the board of Harvest Network International for over 17 years and obtained his ordination credentials through that ministry. Paul continues to serve on the board of United in Christ Worldwide, based in Los Fresnos, TX.

Why Now?

Peter was formally asked to head up a church plant in 1995-1996 by Pastor Paul Laursen and the elders of Christ the King Church (CTK), North Olmsted, Ohio. Unexpectedly, however, CTK pulled back on that initiative when the ‘revival movement’ they were associated with took precedent. This was not Peter’s longstanding heart’s desire. The Lord very sovereignly, clearly, and unexpectedly put on Peter’s heart the burning desire to plant a church in Rocky River. This goal was confirmed through many confirmations by Christ’s Spirit, in his Word, and from other persons providing outside corroboration. 

Why Rocky River?

Peter prayerfully looking for a church in the general western Cleveland suburbs in the Fall of 2019. During this search, it was discovered that Rocky River had no non-denominational church. In fact, only traditional (Presbyterian, Methodist, Catholic, Lutheran etc.) options existed. Further, it has also been reliably reported that when Billy Graham last came to Northeast Ohio in 1994 for a one-week crusade, that of hundreds of ‘decision cards’ filled out and collected in that week, not a single one came from a person living in Rocky River. The town certainly seemed very ripe for a new ‘beachhead’ of the advancing Kingdom of our great King, the Lord Jesus Christ. That all said, bottom-line, it is believed that our Lord has sovereignly put this city on our hearts.

Why Nondenominational?

Peter was discipled and raised in the Lord (starting at age 14) through the (nondenominationally-affiliated) ministry to teens, Young Life. And shortly after formally becoming a member in the first church that he ever joined (Christ the King Lutheran Church), CTK withdrew from the American Lutheran Synod, becoming nondenominational. Although having a partner-ministerial relationship with the “Association of Evangelical Congregations and Ministries” for many years, CTK was nondenominational until 2014 when CTK formally became a ‘Vineyard Movement’ church.


While Peter was briefly licensed in the ‘Missionary Church’ (that shares some common history with the Christian Missionary Alliance denomination) and Senior Pastor of a Congregational church in Ashtabula, Ohio, he has much preferred his nondenominational spiritual formation and church experiences throughout his adult walk with Christ. Plus, there is a belief that the nondenominational church is, perhaps, particularly inviting to the ‘non-churched and unbelievers’ due to unfavorable preconceived notions many of them have formed towards the various denominations.

What Is The Shepherds' Church’s Mission?

Our Mission Statement is Psalm 105:1…

1st: Give thanks to the Lord

2nd: Call upon his name

3rd: Make known among the nations what he has done!


To fulfill its own unique role (in its location/in this time) within Jesus Christ’s mission…as members and part of His body; to glorify God, to “worship him in Spirit and in truth” (John 4:23), to exemplify ‘The Great Commandment’ (Matt. 22:36-40) and to advance ‘The Great Commission’ (Matt. 28:18-19).

What Kind Of Worship Services Might One Experience At The Shepherd’s Church?

Ones that have: Vibrant praise (both exuberant/celebrative and solemn) sincere worship


Corporate prayer comprised of Thanksgiving, Petition and Intercession for our church and for others, including for our Nation and its leaders, and Confession.


Bible-based and Scripturally sound preaching and teaching—giving God’s 100% authoritative and trustworthy Holy Word it’s proper honor, reliance-upon, and prominence in our core beliefs and how we are day-by-day guided


Exhortation for each one of us to grow in Sanctification (which simply means being formed in Christlikeness), including addressing sin issues


In adherence to 1 Thes 5:19-21 and Gal 5:25, being a gathering where the Holy Spirit is not quenched, yet correctly discerned where manifest


Loving relationships that are manifest, warm and trustworthy (evident to all)


Serving people (striving to put one’s own needs behind others… remembering JOY comes from the order of one’s priorities of: Jesus, Others, You)


Reaching out to the lost; not diminishing or, worse yet, completely unaddressing their need for a Savior…unafraid to bring up the ‘Judgment to Come’ and approaching sad prospect of Hell for those who will not repent and put their faith in Jesus Christ – Hebrews 9:27, Luke 24:47 & Acts 24:25


Time and provision for personalized ‘Prayer Ministry’ (for physical healing, emotional distress, unique burdens persons are dealing with in relationships, work and finances, big decisions before them, etc). As modeled and observed in fruitful churches and ministries over the years, much of this might occur when the service has ‘officially’ concluded… in what’s commonly called, Altar Ministry.

What Kind Of Things Shall The Shepherd’s Church Be Known For?

Love for Christ, love for one another at The Shepherd’s Church, love for other local and worldwide brothers and sisters in Christ’s body, love for America, and love for the unbelievers/lost (John 13:35).


Tangible helps (materially and emotionally, where able) for the poor (Mt. 25:37-40; Gal 2:10)


Grace and Integrity (John 1:17)…meaning, even in flawed and far-from-perfect relationships and communications, there is the Christlike grace to extend patience, love, and forgiveness wherever needed to one another; modeling healthy communication and always having the expectation for integrity—truthfulness (Ephesians 4:15, Proverbs 24:26) in our dealings with one another.


A joyous proclamation (both in church service and outside of church in our daily lives) of the one and only Gospel—saving message of Jesus Christ (John 3:16-17; Acts 4:12).

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