April 7 Today in OPC History

On this day Roger Schmurr, OPC pastor and general secretary of the Committee on Christian Education, was born. Mr. Schmurr was ordained to the gospel ministry in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church in 1970 and served as assistant pastor of the OPC at Point Loma, California (1970–73) and pastor of Sharon OPC, Hileah, Florida (1973–1979) before being called as general secretary of the CCE in 1979.

His tenure as general secretary was marked by the founding of New Horizons as the denominational magazine in 1980. Under Schmurr’s direction, the CCE also brought ministerial training in the OPC under its oversight.

In 1988, Schmurr accepted the position of coordinator of publications with Great Commission Publications, and in 1992 became senior editor of Christian Home and School.

Mr. Schmurr’s father, Leonard, served as a ruling elder for many decades at First OPC, Portland, Oregon. In 1970, Mr. Schmurr married Susan Kellogg, whose father and mother, Edward and Eleanor, served in OPC ministry for over four decades.