News at ABWE
Rev. Ralph Gruenberg in the presence of Christ
Rev. Ralph Gruenberg, a man of God of rare quality and passion, entered into the presence of Christ on Thursday, April 13. He was born February 1, 1930, in Newark, New Jersey., into an immigrant family from Germany and was the son of the late Rudolph and Liddy (Schreiber) Gruenberg.
Ralph graduated from the New Jersey Institute of Technology in 1951, and married Evelyn that same year. In 1950, he took a job working on the Columbia Basin Irrigation Project in Washington state, and for the next twelve years he was employed as a civil engineer.
He then began to sense God’s call to ministry, and from 1957 to 1961, he studied at Baptist Bible Seminary in Johnson City, New York, while leading heavy construction projects throughout the Northeast. He and the seminary’s athletic coach, Wendell Kempton, were both active members in the First Baptist Church of Johnson City. It was there that the friendship between the two men started.
Ralph’s full-time Christian ministry began in 1962 when he joined the staff of First Baptist as director of Christian Education. Over a period of twenty-seven years he pastored in numerous churches and led many of his congregations in major building or rebuilding projects.
Ralph served on the ABWE Board from 1988 to 1992, and then joined the ABWE headquarters staff in 1992 in order to oversee the volunteer campaign and build the new home office in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Since that time, Ralph managed ABWE’s project office, saving an estimated six million dollars in project funds and assuring the President and Board that projects were well considered before approval.
In his various capacities, Ralph was a valued source of wisdom to church leaders, board members, missionaries, national leaders, and ABWE administration for his analysis of organizational challenges and insights into solutions, usually shared with a story, a principle from the Scriptures, and a wry smile.
He is survived by his loving wife, Evelyn (Brower) Gruenberg; son and daughter-in-law, Jim and Faith (Gruber) Gruenberg; daughter and son-in-law, Ruth and John Bole; grandchildren, Beka, Liz, and Jonathan Bole, and Stephen, Kurt and Alexandra Gruenberg; and brother and sister-in-law, Bertram and Christa Gruenberg.
The family will receive friends at a viewing on Monday, April 17, from 6 to 8 p.m. at Zechar-Bailey Funeral Home. A funeral service will be held Tuesday, April 18, at 10:30 a.m. at Bible Fellowship Church, and a time of visitation will be held one hour prior to the funeral service from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m.
Condolences for the family may be sent to Mrs. Evelyn Gruenberg at 980 Manchester Drive, Greenville, Ohio, 45331.