A Biographical Sketch
Bruce Bugbee
Bruce Bugbee was raised in Southern California in an unchurched family. After making his commitment to Christ at the age of 18, he participated in a number of ministries: The Crystal Cathedral (Robert Schuller), Calvary Chapel (Chuck Smith), Young Life, the Presbyterian church, the Covenant church, the Reformed Church, South Coast Community Church (Bob Shank) and Willow Creek Community Church (Bill Hybels). He has experienced the local church, the para-church, regional and denominational responsibilities.
Following a call into full-time ministry, he pursued a major in Religious Studies at Westmont College (Santa Barbara, CA) and a Masters of Divinity Degree at Fuller Theological Seminary (Pasadena, CA). His emphasis has been on church renewal, people placement and ministry development. He was ordained in the Reformed Church in America (1979).
Bruce served as a youth pastor in several California churches for 12 years (1970-82) before accepting the Director of Area Youth Ministries position in the regional office of the Reformed Church located in Orange City, Iowa (1982-86). After serving over 200 rural, suburban and metropolitan churches in the western United States and Canada, he became the Pastoral Care Director and co-developer of the Network ministry at Willow Creek Community Church (1986-93). He has also provided leadership and coordination for Willow Creek’s Internship program to over 40 leaders and church planters.
In June of 1993, Bruce founded Network Ministries International. Its purpose is to support the ministry of the local church and the mission of Christian organizations in the effective and efficient use of God’s people for loving service to one another and the world. Assisting leaders in the development of gift-based ministries, he writes, speaks and trains leaders through Network University and various other conferences and events. He has consulted a variety of churches, among them being Saddleback Community Church and Highland Park Presbyterian Church.
Bruce coauthored the Gold Medallion Award winning curriculum called Network: The Right People In The Right Places For The Right Reasons (Zondervan). Now available in six languages, Network is a Biblically-based approach to the identification of a believer's spiritual gifts, passion and personal style. It is a comprehensive system and assessment process that equips believers to better understanding who God has made them to be in order to make their unique contribution in a meaningful place of service. Bruce has personally lead over 30,000 staff and volunteers through the Network process, while another on million believers have used Network in thousands of churches around the world. Using his leadership and administration gifts, he has effectively communicated his passion for building effective local churches to leaders across large and small churches, as well as regional and denominational boundaries.
His book, What You Do Best in the Body of Christ (Zondervan), presents the simple principles for personal ministry effectiveness. It has been the topic for many radio interviews and articles.
In August of 2003 Bruce stepped into the Regional Executive position of the Reformed Church in America's (RCA) Far West Region where he is serving close to 100 churches from Denver to the west coast. His focus is on leadership development, congregational revitalization and church planting. As he serves the RCA, he continues to work with prevailling churches who are seeking to be equipping ministries to fulfill their mission and purpose.
Bruce and his family live in Ladera Ranch, California.
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