Uniting the Body of Christ in Massachusetts to reach our communities with the love of Jesus
Dave grew up in a small town in rural Pennsylvania. He attended Dartmouth College where he joined the Dartmouth Area Christian Fellowship, a transforming experience where he was filled with the Holy Spirit and guided by strong biblical teaching on what it meant to follow Jesus Christ wholeheartedly. He joined in the vision God gave the church to plant similar churches in college towns around New England. In 1981 Dave married Ingrid, and two weeks later they helped lead a church planting team in Amherst, Massachusetts. They have resided in Boston since 1989, where they hope to keep being a light for Jesus in the city and to see a book of Acts awakening in Boston. Abundant Grace Church is part of a network of churches called Newfrontiers, a global movement of church planting with a goal of spreading the Good News of the Gospel.
Dr. Miranda has served as Senior Pastor at Lion of Judah since 1994. He felt called to ministry while pursuing doctoral studies at Harvard with a view toward a life in Academia. In 1986, he dedicated himself to full-time ministry and in that same year was ordained as Pastor from the CB Churches of America. He holds a BA in International Relations from Princeton University and a Ph. D. in Hispanic American Literature from Harvard. In 2013, he received an honorary doctorate (D.Min.) from Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary. Pastor Miranda is a frequent speaker at conferences and workshops in the U.S. and throughout Latin America and hosts a local popular radio program “Dios Habla Hoy” which is heard all over New England. He is married to Mercedes Miranda, who also serves as Associate Pastor of the church.
Dr. Niehaus is also an ordained independent Baptist minister. God has gifted him in the understanding of the spiritual battle, and discernment of spirits, through which he has helped countless people find freedom from demons, as God leads. His passion for God and his Word is poured into gracious teachings to small groups online and in local churches. He is the author of numerous publications, including: Righteousness (estimated 2022); When Did Eve Sin? The Fall and Biblical Historiography (2020); God the Poet (2019); Biblical Theology (2014-2017) Vol. 1: Common Grace Covenants Vol. 2: Special Grace Covenants/OT Vol. 3: Special Grace Covenants/NT; Ancient Near Eastern Themes in Biblical Theology(2008); God at Sinai (1995)
Like many young pastors, Stephen dreamed of pastoring a big, center-city church, believing that's where God does His most significant work. Instead, he became a pastor at Pepperell Christian Fellowship in Pepperell, MA, with a population under 12,000. His book, "A Big Gospel in Small Places: Why Ministry in Forgotten Communities Matters", was published in 2019. https://www.amazon.com/Big-Gospel-Small-Places-Communities/dp/0830841555 Here he explains his about-face, makes a theological case for small-place ministry, and challenges our un-Biblical definitions of significance and strategy. From this vision emerged the ministry, "Small Town Summits", which provides relevant and strategic resources for pastors and lay-ministers in small places. Stephen is also an adjunct professor of New Testament at Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary in South Hamilton, MA
