About Me
I’m a human.
I try to be human like Jesus
and echo his hope to others.
In 2021, my family moved from the United States to Canada.
The story is a bit longer than a couple of paragraphs, but in short: God led us to a city we’d never visited to lead a church called Brentview.
We love this city and our church!
I started my ministry journey as a teenager when I had a surprising enounter with Jesus at summer camp where I sensed a clear call to vocational ministry. Over the following years, I served in roles in student ministries, adult ministries, as a teaching pastor, and eventually as a church planter. In 2013, Lauren (my wife), Lydia (my then 3 month old baby girl), and our two pups moved from central California into the Ballard neighbourhood of Seattle. We spent 8 formative years in that city where I served as the lead pastor of Pangea Church. (I talk a lot about those years in my book, Echoing Hope: How the Humanity of Jesus Redeems our Pain [Waterbrook-Random House]).
After sensing nudges from God, which began sometime around 2018, we had conversations with a few different churches about pastoral roles (the first of which took place a few months before the pandemic). Then, Brentview stumbled into the conversation through a mutual connection. And yes, it’s in another country! And of course, this is the path God moved us on which led to a life-transition we never saw coming. We are so grateful for this current season!
Over the years, I’ve done some studying as well. I have a master of divinity (M.Div.) from Fresno Pacific Biblical Seminary and a Master of Arts in Comparative Religion from the University of Washington in Seattle. I also completed a program that trains people as Spiritual Directors called Stewards of the Mystery. As I studied and grew, I wanted to share it with others. So I started blogging in 2010 and eventually started a podcast in 2015. These mediums have evolved over the years and I’m still discerning the next right step in the content creation journey that I’ve been on.
Nowadays, I do lots of work locally with Brentview Church and spend as much time as possible with my wife and 2 girls (Chloe was born in Seattle and is awesome too!). I’m doing lots of reflecting about the emerging generations, both as a dad and as a pastor. I want to do my part to partner with Jesus in guiding the church to reach and retain young people while doing all we can to empower families.
So there you have it. Oh, I also like football and skateboarding and once in a while I still get on a board and try to perfect my tre-flip skills.
Short Bio:
Prior to his call to the role of Lead Pastor at Brentview Church in Calgary, Kurt Willems was a pastor in central California and Seattle, Washington. He holds a master of divinity degree from Fresno Pacific Biblical Seminary and a master's degree in comparative religion from the University of Washington (where he focused on the historical Paul within Judaism and the Roman Empire). Kurt also completed a two-year training program to become a spiritual director called, Stewards of the Mystery. He loves hanging out with his wife, Lauren, and their amazing two daughters. Kurt’s first book is called, Echoing Hope: How the Humanity of Jesus Redeems our Pain. Also, he loves football and skateboarding.