Peter Payne

Peter served in the U.S. Army as an officer for three years after earning a BS degree in engineering. Following the service, he worked for major corporations for 27 years, designing and marketing new consumer and commercial products. He was awarded 10 patents in the process.

In 1997, Peter left industry to start a 501 (c) (3) business on Chicago’s West Side inner-city to provide employment, on-job training and discipleship to neighborhood men while rehabbing abandoned residential properties. These homes were then sold to neighborhood families as affordable housing.

In 2004 Peter joined the Navigators, continuing work in Chicago’s inner-city. Here he developed a leadership team to build new homes for low-income families to own, paying the same for mortgage, taxes and insurance that they previously paid for rent. He also started and ran a Christian half-way house for men returning from prison, teaching and discipling them to do life God’s way.

Peter retired in 2013 to serve the local church and his community in Elgin, Illinois by leading Bible studies, men’s discipleship groups, adult Sunday school, authoring several self-published spiritual-direction booklets, discipling men 1-on-1, serving on a local crisis pregnancy board, leading a Healing Prayer Rooms ministry and working with Afghan refugees.

Peter was born and raised in the Chicago area. Married to Naomi since 1969, they have four children and 11 grandchildren. Naomi and Peter enjoy traveling the U.S. in their small travel trailer, kayaking wherever lakes can be found. Kayaking is the next best to walking on water.