Meet The Pastors
PASTOR MIKE SPROTT
Mike is a native of Lakeland, FL. He has been in pastoral ministry for 20 years. He serves Grace Bible Church through weekly expository sermons and Bible lessons, biblical counseling, and general oversight of the church's ministries. He and Brenda have been married for 22 years. They have four sons, Andrew, Caleb, Luke, and Samuel and one daughter, Julia. Mike enjoys spending time with his growing family, fishing, watching local sports teams, and walks with his wife.
In 1999, he earned his BA in Biblical Studies from Southeastern University, Charlotte, NC. In 2005, he completed his MDiv from the Master's Seminary, Los Angeles, CA. He recently completed his DMin from the Master's Seminary in Spring, 2017.
Contact: pmike@gbctampa.org
PASTOR MARK SAMEC
Mark was born in St. Augustine, FL and raised in the Tampa area. He helped plant Grace Bible Church with Mike Sprott in 2006. Mark focuses on preaching expository messages on the Old Testament, teaching Sunday School, and discipleship. He has been married to his wife Sandy for 35 years. They have three grown sons, Matthew, Daniel, and Stephen. Mark loves spending time with his 12 grandchildren and anything that has to do with sports.
In 1981, he graduated from Clearwater Christian College with a BA in Bible. In 2011, he completed his MDiv from The Expositors Seminary, Jupiter, FL.
Contact: marksamec@yahoo.com
PASTOR STEPHEN SAMEC
Stephen was born and raised in Lutz, FL. He has served Grace Bible Church since it started in 2006, but officially joined the pastoral staff in 2016. His responsibilities include leading the music ministry, one-on-one discipleship, preaching and teaching, and administration. Stephen has a passion to teach, preach, and, ultimately, see disciples of Christ reproduce themselves in fulfillment of the Great Commission (Mt. 28:18-20). He has been married to Savannah for 8 years. They have three boys, Ezekiel, Philip, and Joel. He loves playing with his boys, musical instruments, NT Greek, mountain biking (yes, in Florida!), and basically anything outdoors.
In 2009, he completed his BA in Bible from Clearwater Christian College, Clearwater, FL. In 2016, he graduated with his MDiv from Baptist Bible Seminary, Clarks Summit, PA.
Contact: stephensamec@ymail.com
PASTOR JIMMY WHIGHAM
Jimmy was born in Chatom, AL in 1957. He lived in a small house with no bathrooms in a segregated area known as "the quarters." His high school experience consisted of chasing girls, getting high, and playing basketball. In his junior year he started committing armed robberies during his lunch breaks. One night, in an attempt to steal a car and commit an armed robbery, he was arrested and served two years of probation. During that timeframe he met Roz. Their relationship consisted of drugs and drinking.
When their first child was born, they started reading the Bible and became convicted of sin and repented. They have now been married 39 years. Over the course of their marriage they had five more children. He had one son before meeting Roz. The Lord has blessed Jimmy with a career in the Fire Department for 37 years.
Jimmy's passion is to preach and teach the Word of God and disciple young families in the church. He joined the pastoral team as a lay elder at the beginning of 2017.
Contact: jimwhig@verizon.net
PASTOR BOB BRADBURY
Bob was born in Ohio in 1952 and was born again in 1973 after studying the Bible with a friend. God gave him understanding to realize his wickedness and his need of Christ as Lord. He is married to Sally and they have 3 adult children and 6 grandchildren. He is a retired pharmacist who worked 28 years at Moffitt Cancer Center. He received a Bachelors degree in Pharmacy in 1975 from OSU and a Masters in Biblical Studies in 2001 from DTS. He strongly believes that God calls sinners to Himself so that Christ is glorified among all the nations. Bob has enjoyed proclaiming the gospel on several missions trips to the Bahamas, Cuba, the Dominican Republic and Honduras in the last 20 years.