Nelson joins Faith Community
By Angie Landsverk
Josh Nelson will become Faith Community Church’s new senior pastor on Sunday, Dec. 6.
His installation will take place during the church’s 9 a.m. service.
The first Sunday Nelson will preach there will be on Dec. 13.
“Faith was the first church I put my resume out to,” he said. “I think I did five other churches. They were my favorite throughout the process.”
Nelson said there were multiple reasons why he felt that way about the church.
“They did a great job presenting themselves, what they were looking for, what they value,” he said.
The church’s search for a new pastor began last June.
Mark Pitroff has served as its interim pastor for the last two years.
Nelson first got to know members of the church via Zoom calls.
“That was the draw – the people,” Nelson said.
When he arrived in Waupaca in early fall for an in-person interview, he loved the area.
“I love water,” Nelson said.
In early October, his wife Ashley and their 18-month-old son Eli joined him for a weekend visit.
That was part of the candidating process, Nelson explained.
The weekend included meetings and time for getting to know members of the church.
He preached there on that Sunday.
The following week, the church asked him to be its next senior pastor.
Nelson said Faith Community Church is a good fit for him and his family.
He remembers how Eli ran around the sanctuary during that weekend visit and felt at home.
“It was a neat thing,” Nelson said.
They are in the process of moving here from their home in suburban Chicago.
Nelson was born and raised in Downers Grove, and has lived in that area his whole life.
“I grew up in the church,” he said. “It wasn’t until I was about 16 that I made my faith my own.”
Nelson said, “I was living a very nice life in many ways.”
He was popular and involved in athletics.
Nelson said he was also sneaking out of the house to go to parties.
He said he was gripped by God’s love for him and pulled out of the comfortable life he was living.
Nelson said people at his local church loved him and helped him grow in his faith.
“Through that time, I realized I wanted to serve God full time,” he said.
Nelson applied to Moody Bible Institute in downtown Chicago.
During his senior year there, he was hired to be the youth pastor at Palos Bible Church, in Palos Heights, Illinois.
In 2014, Nelson graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Bible and youth ministry.
He was the youth pastor for about 3 1/2 years and then the associate pastor for about the last 3 1/2 years.
Nelson said God helped him develop his gifts and abilities and “changed my heart in various areas.”
He believes God was preparing him for different roles in the church.
Nelson also continued his education.
He completed a master’s degree in Christian ministry in 2016 through Liberty Theological Seminary.
When the COVID-19 pandemic began last March, Nelson began serving the church in a new way.
“Right as we were making the decision to close temporarily, suspend in-person service, our senior pastor got Covid bad,” he said. “He was in the hospital over a month, on a ventilator.”
Nelson began serving as the senior pastor.
He said the senior pastor who was sick with the virus is doing great.
“I believe God, over the last few years, had prepared me for that time and had been working to get me ready for this time as well,” Nelson said. “For various reasons, it was time for me to move on. God has a new plan for me.”
He and Ashley are excited to be at Faith Community Church and in the Waupaca community.
Nelson says being called to a church also means being called to a community.
They will look at how they can serve the community.
The couple enjoys hiking and kayaking, as well as traveling and experiencing new cultures.
“I love reading, playing sports in general,” Nelson said.
As he becomes the new senior pastor in the midst of the continuing pandemic, Nelson said, “There’s one thing that remains the same, and that is Jesus. God has always reminded us that He is constant.
“Jesus brings hope, light and peace, the “same as yesterday, today and the next day as well,” Nelson said. “The times are weird, terrible, sad and whatever, but Jesus is still Jesus.”