Our Pastors

Jim Newsom, Senior Pastor of Covenant Church East in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, answered the call to move his family from Kentucky in August of 2010. Pastor Jim has been in full time ministry for over twenty-five years and has influenced thousands around the world.

Overcoming many obstacles, Pastor Jim has an extraordinary testimony of God’s grace and mercy. Some of those obstacles include being expelled from high school, drug abuse, and criminal activity. Ultimately, he was charged and convicted of second-degree murder. On July 26, 1972, Pastor Jim surrendered his life to Jesus Christ and the next morning, turned himself into the local authorities, confessed to his crime and pled guilty to his charge. While in prison, not only was he developing his own relationship with God but also was instrumental in starting a prison church that is still in existence today. Another testimony of God’s grace in his life was his release from prison after only serving eight years of a 30-year sentence. Since then, he has served in multiple pastoral and leadership roles in several churches and founded Outward Focused Ministries, a ministry that has reached a plethora of people from all walks of life.

Pastor Jim’s gift of teaching brings out the simplicity of the Word of God and makes it applicable for every person at any level. Pastor Jim focuses on spending time with God, and when he is not engaged in the Word, he is spending time with his wife and family. Being fully convinced of his mandate from the Lord, he motivates others to discover who they are in Christ Jesus and to resist a lazy mentality as a believer. For recreation, you will see him out on the golf course working on the perfect shot!

Pastor Jim resides in Monroeville, Pennsylvania with his wife, Diane. They have two adult children, Jessica & Jason.

Pastor Diane is co-pastor at Covenant Church East in Greensburg, Pennsylvania. She was born in a small town in Michigan to Christian parents. Moving to Florida at the age of ten, Pastor Diane graduated high school and attended Southeastern Bible College for two years. Pastors Jim and Diane united in marriage in 1983 and began their life together. Truly taking on a servant’s heart, Pastor Diane believes that in order to gain in this life you must be willing to give your life away in helping others and showing them true agape love through serving.

Pastor Diane leads the Flourish Women’s Ministry at CCE along with her many other roles including accounting, counseling to the body and being an encouraging support for the CCE staff. However, her most valuable role she plays is to her husband, in supporting his vision and giving her whole heart in faithfulness to him; in doing this, she is a true example of a godly woman fitting herself into her husband’s plan. For recreation, Pastor Diane enjoys playing games, gardening and spending time with her family!