Dr. Thorson comes to First Presbyterian of Hemet from Grace Presbyterian Church of Plano, Texas, where he has served since 1999 as Associate Pastor, overseeing growth, missions and pastoral care. A native of San Jose, California, Larry experienced the presence of God in a personal way while recovering from a sports injury.

“I came to know Jesus Christ as my friend and savior and decided to give my life to him in response”.

          Larry graduated from Liberty College in Lynchburg, Virginia in 1978. While there, he began attending a Presbyterian Church for the first time. Since then, he has graduated from Fuller Theological Seminary with an M.A. in Theology in 1982, Union Theological Seminary in Virginia with an M. Div. in 1983 and a Doctor of Ministry degree from Columbia Theological Seminary in 2004.

Larry was ordained as a Presbyterian Minister in 1983.

          Larry’s wife, the Reverend Dr. Martha Thorson, was the Associate Pastor of Congregational Life at Highland Park Presbyterian Church in Dallas, Texas for five years before becoming Spiritual Director for Peace and Safety in the Christian Home, which is an international ministry to those who suffer from domestic violence, in 2004. Martha plans to continue in this ministry upon relocating in Hemet with Larry. Larry and Martha have two children, Kari, a sophomore at Long Beach State, majoring in philosophy, and Eric, a freshman in high school.

          Prior to serving at Grace Presbyterian, Larry was the co-organizing pastor, with Martha, of the Chino Hills Presbyterian Church, the church development consultant for City Team Ministries in San Jose, Associate Pastor of the Little Falls Presbyterian Church in Arlington, Virginia, and Pastor of the Kentuck and Williamson Presbyterian Churches in Danville, Virginia.

Larry brings 22 years of diverse ministerial experience to First Presbyterian Church of Hemet.