Biography

Tim Shoemaker - Tenor

I was raised in the church. Well, not literally… Actually I was raised next door to the church. For several years, we lived in the little house that was in the church parking lot, while my parents were the caretakers of the church. The parking lot and church front lawn were my playground. I remember "Playing Church" when I was 4 or 5 years old when the church podium was moved out onto the lawn for new carpet. I also remember giving sermons from the pulpit while my father vacuumed. 

I have a tremendous Christian heritage in my family.

My family has Christian roots way back  to the early 1600's when Hendrick Jochemsz Schoonmaker (later changed to Shoemaker) left Holland to come to America for religious freedom and settled in upper state New York. Some of Hendricks's descendants where early founders & attendees of several churches, namely The Old Dutch Church in Kinston NY, the French Church in New Paulz NY.

• My Dad’s Father John Shoemaker was a singing evangelist who for about two years (1950-1951) traveled all over the USA preaching, singing and playing his Concert Accordion. His Motto: Sing with John and his Accordion. He would lead people in "modern day" choruses.

• My Mom’s Father was born in China because his parents were sent from the USA to China as missionaries. He was in China until the age of 12 until the missionaries were asked to leave by the Chinese government..

• My Mom and Dad are both Christians living in Richland, Washington, and have spent their life working in the church. My father plays the piano, and my mother cooks, sews, and much more.

• My sister,Tami Fletcher, is married to Dr. David Fletcher who is the Executive Pastor at Northwest Bible Church in Dallas, Texas. David also hosts a website for Executive Pastors in America.

• My wife, Alice, was raised as a child until age 13 on the Navajo Indian Reservation in Hardrock Arizona & Pinion Arizona. Her parents were missionaries with Navajo Gospel Mission (now called AmeriTribes). 

BUT… all of this is not what makes ME a Christian. I found at the young age of 8 that even though everyone I knew and respected was a Christian, I had never taken the step myself to make a personal commitment to Jesus Christ and the Gospel. It was during a Vacation Bible School lesson that I made this commitment.

What has the Lord done to change my life:

I have been blessed with a beautiful wife and two children, and a home in one of the best places in the world to live, a good job, and a church that preaches the gospel without hesitation. What more could anyone want?

What does GGQ mean to me:

I have always wanted to be part of a “group”. In the past I have sang solos, duets, quartets, octets, small groups, in Church Choirs, and I even sang in the Orange County Master Choral in the early 1980s. My experience also put me in the position of Church Choir Director and worship leader for several years. Being in GGQ gives a much more personal experience as I am able to convey the message of the songs that we sing by both singing and looking into the eyes of the audience. 

Family and Life:

Until a few years ago my family and I lived in the same house in Laguna Hills that I lived in when I was in 6th grade. Then in 1997, we moved to San Clemente to live by the beach in the house where I had my first lunch with my wife Alice way back in 1982. When I met my wife Alice, she lived in San Luis Obispo. We were married at Grace Church SLO in1982. We have two children, Naomi who is 24 and in college, and Rachel who is 22 and running her own sewing business. I am employed at Epicor Software Corporation as a Sr. Consultant (formerly a Tech Support Manager). This position puts me "on the road" helping my customers all over western USA and Canada (and even China). Prior to Epicor I worked as a Systems Programmer / Supervisor / MIS Manager for Datatronics and Alpha Micro. Alice and I like to make regular trips to the San Luis Obispo area, and really enjoy going to the Olallieberry Bed and Breakfast in Cambria, CA for long weekends away.

Church:

We attend the Christ Community Church of Laguna Hills (CCCLH). I actually started attending this church in 1975 for about three years. At that point my sister and I had both graduated from Mission Viejo High School and found that WE (my sister and I) were the entire college group… my family decided we should go somewhere that we had fellowship with others our age, and we found ourselves at Coast Bible Church.

After several years at Coast, both my sister and I each found a spouse and moved elsewhere. Eventually, I found my way back to CCCLH in February 1988, and have called it home ever since. Not only do we enjoy the friends and fellowship that we find here, but we always hunger for the next spiritual lesson that we will learn from the Sunday morning messages delivered by one of our pastors.

Current Life Events:

We still have two girls living at home. Naomi is in her final year of post-college work doing her "Student Teaching. That plus Choir,  church, Worship teams, Sound crew, cars… enough said. We are at church multiple times per week for events.  Did I mention that I have a Job?... Oh.. and I sing in the Glory Gates Quartet, with weekly practices.