Joel Wood became Senior Pastor of New Life in October, 2021. His great desire is to equip and empower the church for faithfulness and fruitfulness 
through preaching, counseling, and teaching. He is a Fellow with the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors, operates veritysoul.care, is a professor at City Seminary (Sacramento, CA), Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary, Westminster Seminary (Philadelphia), OIC, and is ¼ of the Jerusalem Chamber podcast. He has been married to Emily for 24 years and loves spending time exploring the West Coast with her and their children.
Bachelor of Arts (BA), 1999
Educational Ministries/Music — Moody Bible Institute, Chicago, IL
Certificate, 2006
Congregational Foundation for Theological Studies, Oak Creek, WI
Master of Divinity (MDiv), 2008
Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary, Pittsburgh, PA
Other Graduate Work
- Dallas Theological Seminary, Dallas, TX — Fall, 2001
- Mid-America Reformed Seminary, Dyer, IN — 2004-2006
Doctor of Ministry: Counseling (DMin), 2014
Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary, Pittsburgh, PA
Pastor Joel's primary responsibility is to feed the flock through preaching. He preaches with this definition in mind:
Preaching is God–Father, Son, and Spirit–communicating His Truth in our world to people in the pew through human instruments in order to change their thinking, bridle their emotions, and alter their wills, for the purpose of converting sinners, sanctifying saints, and preparing men and women, boys and girls for heaven.
