Who We Are
	Aberdeen Alliance Church is part of the Christian and Missionary Alliance (C&MA) denomination.

Kerry Ascher, Pastor Pastor Kerry is a native of South Dakota.  He grew up in the Hitchcock/Huron area and moved to Watertown during his High School years.  From there he attended Bartlesville Wesleyan College in Bartlesville, OK for two years and then transferred to Crown College in St. Bonifacious, MN where he graduated with a Missions Degree.  He married his high school sweetheart, Beth Stein, in 1975.  They have four children: Doug (29) Kelly (28) Katie (25) and Tina (22).   After college, Kerry became the Youth Pastor at Maple Plain Community Church in Maple Plain, MN.  In 1983, Kerry and family moved to DeSmet, South Dakota, where Kerry was the solo pastor for 9 years at the DeSmet Alliance Church.  (Also, known as the church that Pa Ingalls helped build.  "Little House on the Prairie" author Laura Ingalls  spent several years with her family in DeSmet, SD).   In 1992, Kerry came to Aberdeen Alliance Church and has been the pastor here for 16 years.  During his tenure here, we have incorporated an 'adopt a college' student program, small groups, the weekly men's prayer breakfast, the co-ed church softball team, the church basketball team, the pastor's pool night and the annual THANKSGIVING acrostic service that incorporates the congregation as the main speakers.   Pastor Kerry has been on three mission trips since first coming to Aberdeen.  His first trip was to Quito, Ecuador with other pastors and several lay men.  He and his wife, Beth, teamed together with several churches from MN and took a group of young people from Aberdeen to Monteray, Mexico in 1998.  In 2007, Kerry and his family along with  people from two other Alliance churches traveled to Golindrinas, Ecuador, to help build a church.    Pastor Kerry loves to hunt, ride motorcycles & snowmobiles, watch and play sports.  He loves to remodel and construct homes and enjoys being able to help others when they need a project done.

Beth Ascher, Administrative Assistant Beth is one of eight children and was raised on a dairy farm near Watertown, SD.  She attended a one room country school for the first eight years of schooling.  She loves her country “roots” and the experiences and lessons learned from growing up in a large family in a rural setting. Beth has enjoyed being able to have been a stay at home mom until her youngest child was five.  Since then she has acquired many ‘hats’ working in the secular field as a school secretary, substitute teacher, personal banker,  office manager, piano teacher and administrative assistant. As a pastor’s wife she has always felt called just as much into the ministry as her husband, Kerry.  She has been a Sunday school teacher, camp counselor and speaker, leader of women’s groups, youth sponsor and has been involved in the music ministry in every church they have been in.  She enjoys playing softball, volleyball, riding motorcycle, snowmobiling, reading, music, gardening and entertaining.  She loves learning about personality strengths and weaknesses and is a Certified Behavior Consultant.  Her favorite part of ministry is networking and helping to assimilate people into the church.