Meet Our Senior Pastor

In Krista’s own words

I grew up in a Christian home, and came to faith when I was five years old. One night I actually snuck out of bed after I’d been tucked in, and asked “could I get saved?” My grandparents were staying with us, and my grandfather took me on his lap and shared the Scriptures with me. It was such a sweet moment.

 

One thing we think about as a family, kind of our family motto, is “loved into loveliness.” We think about it in two ways. First that God’s love is what is making us (slowly but surely) lovely; also that in the way we love others—as we love each other, as we love our kids, the people in our community, our neighbors—we get to have a small part in bringing loveliness into their lives. That’s so significant for us.

The Millers with their children: Claire (9), Violet (7), Cora (5), and Jude (3).

I grew up in a Christian home and at the age of four accepted Jesus as my Savior. While I didn’t fully realize what I was doing, I knew Jesus loved me and had died for my sins. Much time during my early years was spent learning to obey and do what was right. I considered myself a pretty good person.

But then I hit my early teens. I found myself thinking and feeling things that I knew were wrong. There was a part of my heart that was monstrous: vicious, lustful, and wicked. Yet on the outside, I played the part of the perfect Christian kid. While I was getting awards at church I was crying myself to sleep at night, ashamed of the monster inside me. I lived in fear that if people ever discovered who I really was, they would never accept me. I was disintegrated and my life was disintegrating.

It was then that I discovered the wonder of God’s grace. Discovering my brokenness, I realized that I was not a good person who occasionally messed up; I was a sinful person deeply in need of a Savior. I needed Jesus, not only as the one who saves me from my sins, but as the one who saves me. I cried out for help, and God began to teach me to live in him by grace. It was sweetness from beyond.

It was during my senior year in high school that I knew God was calling me into ministry. But I didn’t want to be a pastor. Pastors were strange bearded creatures with bad breath. And they were poor. I wanted to drive a certain kind of car, live in a certain kind of house, and have a certain kind of life. But God gently and persistently tore that dream from my grip. He called me to give my life to his work. I knew that it was a turning point; and finally, on a tear-filled January night, I surrendered all of me and all my future to God. I would be his man… no matter what.

In response to God’s call to ministry, I entered training by studying Bible at Cedarville University (B.A., 2004), where I met my wife Krista, and then completed a Masters of Theology degree from Dallas Theological Seminary (Th.M, 2010). I was ordained at Stonebriar Community Church in 2010. My two years working with Swindoll (2008-2010) and three years at Christ Community Church (2010-2013) were formational to my identity as a pastor and my understanding of ministry.

In 2013, God moved our family to beautiful Olympia, Washington to become the Senior Pastor of Westwood Baptist Church (2013-Present). Pastor Lee Forstrom was retiring after 41 years of fruitful ministry and together we carefully navigated a seamless handoff of this significant ministry. While we made mistakes along the way, the strength of the transition came down to the personal relationship between Pastor Lee and myself.

These past six years have seen strong growth at Westwood. My arrival brought renewed energy, purpose, and clarity which resulted in strong growth. We expanded ministry outreach to adults, kids, and students. We remodeled much of our building and modernized our worship while maintaining a traditional service offering. It’s been a joyous experience to see God working in and through this church, and I am honored to have played a part in that.

After seeking the Lord in prayer and consulting with valued mentors, Krista and I sensed that the Lord was releasing us to pursue his calling wholeheartedly with The Moody Church, a church that shares our passion to both pursue the lost and make disciples.

I began my ministry career in 2008 as a staff intern at Chuck Swindoll’s Stonebriar Community Church. Under Chuck’s leadership, I gained valuable teaching and leadership skills. I was honored to be ordained by Dr. Swindoll in May 2010.

In 2010, following my time at Stonebriar, I became an Associate Pastor at Christ Community Church in the Chicago suburb of St. Charles. I oversaw all of the Adult Ministries at the DeKalb campus of this large multi-site church—the equivalent of The Moody Church’s combined Communities and Equipping ministries.

In August of 2013, I answered the call to become Senior Pastor of Westwood Baptist Church in Olympia, WA, transitioning leadership from the outgoing founding pastor, who had served for 41 years.

And now, in July of 2020, I’m delighted to begin serving as Senior Pastor of The Moody Church!