Nate Wilson - Pastor
Nate Wilson’s parents, Rev. Ken & Leslie Wilson, taught him to love God and love His Word at a very early age. His wife, Paula, also grew up in a Christian home and became a Christian at an early age. As a boy, Nate saw a video at his church (Briarwood PCA, Birmingham, AL) of Dr. J. Edwin Orr stating that every revival in history began with prayer meetings led by students. This instilled in Nate a passion to see the church in America revived. Right away, Nate started co-leading prayer meetings at Briarwood High School, begging God to bring revival. Nate also worked for many years as a counselor at Camp Briarwood, impacting the lives of the children in the church. Meanwhile, Paula was busy making a stand for Christ at her public high school and being very involved in her church youth group (Spanish River PCA, Boca Raton, FL).
When Nate went to Covenant College, he joined a prayer group right away. The president of the group began discipling Nate in missions and took Nate to hear Bob Sjogren’s Bible teaching on missions. As a result, Nate’s vision broadened from seeing America revived, to seeing world missions completed in his lifetime! Nate also met Paula there, and together they led the student mission fellowship at Covenant College. To further promote student activism in prayer and missions, Nate joined the staff of InterVarsity Missions and began to disciple, encourage, and equip student leaders of mission fellowships at a dozen Christian colleges throughout the Southeast United States. Nate and Paula married shortly thereafter, and Paula settled down to making a great home and discipling other women.
In 1992, Nate transferred to Caleb Project in Denver to be more strategically positioned in mission mobilization. Through Caleb Project, God widened Nate’s ministry from serving students in the Southeast to serving Christian leaders all over the world in mission mobilization. Earning an M.Div. from Sangre de Cristo Seminary has further strengthened Nate in this position of serving church leaders.
In 2004, The TentMaker Project, a church-based international mercy ministry, issued a call to Nate to serve as Director of Development. Nate accepted this because of his desire to work more closely with a local church. He worked there for almost two years to develop administrative structure, promote the mission, and help equip the church in Uganda so that they may fulfill the Great Commission.
Pastor Wilson believes that God has used all these experiences with student ministry, missions, development, and church ministry to equip him and his family for the multifaceted challenge of church planting. At the request of the members of the newly-formed Christ the Redeemer Church, the Wilson family moved to Manhattan in May 2006, for Nate to assume the role of organizing pastor. At the time he was ordained as a teaching elder and evangelist of the Illiana Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church in America. After a few years, Nate was re-ordained by a group of elders from several local churches (including Trinity Baptist, Manhattan Christian Fellowship, Ashland Community, Christ Community, and Vintage Faith). As Nate continues, he is depending upon God’s strength and the prayers and support of God’s people to walk in this path of ministry!
God has blessed Pastor Wilson and his wife with twelve children (plus four in heaven), and a growing number of grandchildren. The Wilsons believe that building a Godly family is the foundation of their ministry of equipping Christian leaders to fulfill the Great Commission.
Chip Zachary - Elder
Chip was born in Chillicothe, MO and was privileged to be raised in a Christian home. He heard the gospel at a young age through his church and the teaching of his parents. At age ten, he made a profession of faith and was baptized. In medical school he was discipled through Christian Medical & Dental Association (CMDA) where he learned the importance of the spiritual disciplines of Bible study and prayer. He also met his wife Libby through the CMDA study.
In 1993, Chip and Libby were sitting under the teaching of the late Rodney Stortz at Twin Oaks Presbyterian Church (TOPC) in St. Louis. Here they were introduced to God’s sovereignty in salvation and all of life. The Reformed doctrines of grace were transforming in their lives. Chip served as a deacon at TOPC prior to moving to Manhattan.
In 1997, the Lord led Chip and Libby to move to Manhattan to start a new gastroenterologic practice. At that time, there was no church in Manhattan clearly committed to Reformed theology. It was their desire to see a Reformed church planted in Manhattan and early on they were involved in an informal Reformed fellowship and Bible study. In 2005, God sovereignly brought about the circumstances leading to the formation of Christ the Redeemer Church (CTR). On January 9, 2011, Chip was ordained as an elder at CTR by a group of local pastors and elders. Since the beginning of CTR, Chip has been active in teaching Bible study and occasionally filling the pulpit in Nate’s absence.
Chip is married to Libby and is blessed with eight children. It is a great joy to worship and serve together as a family at CTR. Chip has also been on three medical missionary trips to Romania.
Mark Linville - Elder
Brian Zachary - Deacon
Jacen Clapp - Deacon
Clay Graber - Deacon
