Faces of Faith: The Revs. Greg and Torri Peterson

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Pastor Greg Peterson and his wife, Torri, co-founded Believers Church in Matteson. | Joseph P. Meier~Sun-Times Media

Updated: March 18, 2012 8:00AM

Meet the husband-and-wife team that ministers with Believers Church in Matteson.

The Revs. Greg and Torri Peterson live in Frankfort.

What do they do?

At an early age, Greg and Torri Peterson desired to serve God.

That led the husband and wife team to co-found Believers Church at 930 Believers Way in Matteson.

How did they get into their job?

Greg Peterson was born in Chicago’s Roseland community and later graduated from Lincoln-Way Central High School in New Lenox.

“As an 18-year-old I saw people who were hurting and knew that God was the answer and could change their lives,” he said. “I saw in my personal life the difference God could make.”

So he enrolled at Rhema Bible College in Tulsa, Okla., where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in pastoral studies in 1982. That same year he was ordained at Rhema.

For the next three years, he served at the Homewood Full Gospel Church.

As for his wife, she was born in Oceanside, Calif., but grew up in Flossmoor and graduated from Homewood Christian Academy.

“I have always had a love for people and a desire to help them, and even as a teenager had been very involved in church ministry,” she said. “As time went on it seemed a perfect fit.”

Torri Peterson then enrolled at Prairie State College in Chicago Heights where she earned a degree in dental hygiene in 1982.

“I was raised and grew up in the church and completed different Bible training through courses I took at church,” she said. “I was ordained at Christian Life Fellowship (in Monee) in 1985.”

That is the year the couple went as co-pastors to Monee to help out at the struggling Christian Life Fellowship Church. Wanting the church to become a more multicultural church, the Petersons decided to move the church to Matteson and renamed it Believers Church in 2005.

What’s the best part of the job?

“The best part of the job is seeing so many lives drastically changed,” Greg Peterson said.

“I love being able to appreciate all of our volunteers and to get to know everybody (at church),” Torri Peterson said. “We have great people and great volunteers.”

As for how the Petersons handle their co-pastor duties, Torri Peterson said her husband gives most of the sermons, and she oversees the ministries.

“We always talk things over, and I speak my mind, but he has the final say,” she said. “He’s good about listening to other people and their opinions, just like (he does) in our marriage.”

What’s the worst part of the job?

Torri Peterson said there is no worst part of the job while her husband said the biggest challenge “is getting people to see God as a loving and caring friend who desires to see them prosper and succeed.”

What do they do for fun?

“I invest in intellectual properties, stocks and real estate,” Greg Peterson said. “I also like to travel.”

“I like to spend time with our family, go shopping and traveling,” Torri Peterson said.

The Petersons live in Frankfort and have four children — Katelynn, 24; Brittany, 22; Jarett, 19; and Lindsey, 16; — and a 20-month-old granddaughter, Adison.