Growing up in the restaurant business, Larry Hinkle learned an important principle: “My mother taught me from her many years of hard work in food service to always tip waitresses well. ‘That’s what put you through college,’ she would tell me.”
Larry grew up in the Chicago area and his mother ran a soda fountain-restaurant at the back of a drug store in Winnetka, Illinois. “I recall one of my first job responsibilities was peeling and cutting potatoes down in the basement of that establishment.”
Love of sports influenced Larry’s choice of college. “My interest in sports ultimately led me to majoring in physical education. I began bowling in junior high school and on through the high school years worked in a bowling alley from where I participated in national tournaments. Although I have come close to bowling a perfect 300 on several occasions, that is still my goal. I also loved playing baseball and basketball and later played college-level baseball. I also developed a love for the Spanish language in high school and went on to minor in that subject in college.
Larry, pastor of GCI congregations in Port St. Lucie and North Broward, Florida, first became interested in the WCG/GCI in 1960. “As a teenager I began to listen to the church’s radio broadcast and was intrigued by the strong admonitions to believe the Bible. I diligently studied the church’s literature including the Correspondence Course.”
It wasn’t until his senior year in college that Larry started attending WCG church services in Louisville, Kentucky. “After graduation from a college in Indiana, I attended Ambassador College in Pasadena for one year. Since I held a teaching license in the Spanish language, the next year an opportunity to teach Spanish at both Imperial High School and Ambassador College was presented to me. In 1968, I became a faculty member in Pasadena and worked in that position for approximately 10 years. In 1976, a Spanish church was started on the Ambassador campus. The experience of serving in that congregation and travelling to serve various Latin American congregations made me aware of a calling to serve in full-time ministry. In 1979, we moved to Puerto Rico to serve in the Caribbean regional office under Stan Bass. From there I was called into full-time pastoral ministry serving various congregations in the New York City area including a Spanish church in Queens.”
In 1990, Larry and family moved to North Carolina where he served three congregations for four years. In 1994, they moved to Florida where Larry has served several congregations and now serves as the district pastor.
Larry and his wife Joanne just celebrated their 45th wedding anniversary. They have two children. “Our daughter, Christi and our three grandchildren, Coty, Warren and Elizabeth live in North Carolina and our son Glen currently lives near Salt Lake City, Utah. Both my wife and my daughter have worked for many years in the field of physical therapy and my son in the area of computer programming.
When asked what he enjoys most about being a pastor, Larry said, “It is the opportunity to be a change-agent in people’s lives, helping them to know God’s love and to learn to enjoy all of his benefits (Psalm 103).”
Larry is excited about GCI. “What I enjoy most about being a part of GCI is witnessing the dynamic changes that God has brought about in our fellowship through our doctrinal understanding of God as Trinity. I see God’s sense of humor in bringing us full circle from a disbelief in his triune nature to fully embracing that reality. In the context of this doctrinal position it is exciting to see and to experience the many new pathways that have been opened up for us to participate in Jesus’ ministry.”
This love of pastoring and love for our understanding of the Trinity has formed Larry’s passion. “My passion is to help people come to know God better and to experience him more fully in their lives. This is the goal and purpose of the ministry that I’ve founded, Odyssey in Christ, Spiritual Formation for Leadership (OdysseyinChrist.com). This ministry continues to grow in scope and provides a way for those hungry for more of God in their lives to be exposed to means through which they can be spiritually filled and satisfied.”
Larry’s most memorable moment as pastor? “What comes to mind is a time when we had been about four years into our denominational changes and some Christian communities were doubtful that our transformation was for real. Upon being introduced to the ministry of the Walk to Emmaus in Florida, the church and I were fully accepted and welcomed with loving and open arms into that community. This experience and our church’s participation in that spiritually-focused fellowship over the past 12 years have been a highlight of my pastoral ministry.”
Asked when he feels closest to God, Larry replied, “I feel closest to God when walking in the morning hours enjoying his presence and peace through the beauty of his creation, and also when offering spiritual direction to individuals and to groups.”
