Derek Vreeland - Discipleship Pastor
I have spent half my life in the South and the other half in the Midwest. I was born in Mobile, Alabama and grew up in St. Joseph. After I graduated from Central High School and Missouri Western in the 1990s, my wife and I moved to Oklahoma for three years where I attended Oral Roberts University. In 1999 my young family and I relocated to Americus, Georgia, where I served Cornerstone Church, first as the youth minister and later as the pastor. We lived in South Georgia for nearly twelve years before returning to St. Joseph in May 2011 where I now serve as the Pastor of Discipleship here at Word of Life Church.
My wife, Jenni, and I have three boys Wesley, Taylor, and Dylan. Jenni and I met in youth group while we were in high school and got married in 1995, while I was in college. I am happy to say that I got to marry my high school sweetheart.
I was baptized in January 1986 and had a dramatic encounter with Jesus Christ on April 1, 1990 while a sophomore in high school. Soon after, I felt a call to serve God through the local church. My primary call as a pastor is to teach, write, and lead. By God’s grace, I have written two books: Shape Shifters: How God Changes the Human Heart (2008) and Primal Credo: Your Entrance into the Apostles’ Creed (2011).
Interests: reading, writing, social media, running, hiking, camping, and spending time with the family
Education: B.A. English/Writing, Missouri Western State University (1996); M.Div., Oral Roberts University (1999); D.Min., Asbury Theological Seminary (2007)
Favorite Sports Team: Kansas City Chiefs
Favorite Food: Pizza, Lemon-pepper Wings, Coffee (yes coffee is food)
Favorite Authors: Raniero Cantelamessa, Gordon Fee, Richard Foster, Wayne Grudem, Stanley Hauerwas, Tim Keller, C.S. Lewis, Eugene Peterson, N.T. Wright, Ravi Zacharias
Favorite Music: Bob Dylan, The Civil Wars, Adele, Hillsong United, Jakob Dylan, Dustin Kensrue, Gungor
Favorite TV Show: Seinfeld
Favorite Movies: Tombstone, Rocky IV, Forrest Gump, Walk the Line
Favorite Quote: “I believe in Christianity as I believe that the Sun has risen, not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else” — C.S. Lewis