REV. DR. JENNIFER HOLZ
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Jennifer was born in Los Angeles, CA, and she grew up in Colorado Springs, CO. She was raised in a ministry family and came to faith in her childhood. She was confirmed and baptized in sixth grade. Jennifer sensed her call to ministry when she was 12 years old while sitting in youth group one Wednesday night. She felt a deep sense of gratitude for the adult leaders around her who were pouring into her spiritual growth, and knew she would be serving the Lord vocationally when she grew up.
While attending Amherst College, Jennifer was the swim team’s co-captain and served as a leader with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. After graduation, she served on IVCF’s staff, and she helped to build a witnessing community, developed student leaders, engaged with campus leadership, and mentored interns. While attending Fuller Theological Seminary, Jennifer worked as a mediator with the Center for Conflict Resolution in Pasadena, CA. Jennifer earned her Master of Divinity (M.Div.) from Fuller Theological Seminary in 2001 and was recognized with the prestigious Hooper Keefe Preaching Award.
Since 2000, Jennifer has served as a pastor in various roles at First Presbyterian Church of Colorado Springs. First Pres is a large church of more than 3,000 covenant partners and was one of the first churches to join our ECO denomination in 2012. First Pres shares CPC’s convictions about the primacy of God’s Word, a commitment to evangelism, disciple-making and missions, and the work of the Holy Spirit among us.
Jennifer began her pastorate at First Pres as the Associate Pastor of Young Adults. In this role she was responsible for pastoring, teaching and guiding young adults toward spiritual maturity and full membership in the church. She also organized and led global mission projects to Kenya and Mexico. In 2007, Jennifer became the Associate Pastor of Adult Ministries. In this capacity she shepherded the adult discipleship pathway, developed leaders for Sunday school and discipleship programs, mentored ordination candidates, oversaw the teaching ministries of the church, and directed its new member classes.
In 2014, Jennifer took on the role of Executive Pastor and began a two-year period as the Transitional Lead Pastor. She moderated the Session during a difficult time in the life of that church, preached regularly, oversaw the preaching team, and served as the Head of Staff. During this time Jennifer also completed her Doctor of Ministry (D.Min.) at Fuller Theological Seminary, and her doctoral project, Shared Executive Discernment: A Model for Leading Change, explores the spiritual practices that undergird collaborative executive teams leading for transformation. In 2022, Jennifer became the Senior Associate Pastor of Spiritual Health, leading the staff and congregation into deeper spiritual health through weekly chapel and Wednesday night workshops on spiritual rhythms. She also served as a mentor for staff members and ECO ordination candidates, and she taught classes on spiritual formation and church membership. Recently she also oversaw evangelism formation in the church including Alpha.
Jennifer has extensive experience serving God’s people outside of her various roles at First Pres. She is an adjunct professor at Denver Seminary, teaching courses on vocation and the Christian life, as well as teaching mentoring classes to ECO students enrolled in ECO’s Flourish Institute of Theology. She has also served as both a member and the president of the ECO National Synod, the body that oversees the mission, vision, and operations of ECO. And she was a member of the team that wrote the initial ordination manual for ECO candidates.
Jennifer’s husband, Adam, is the Director of Pluggedin.com, a ministry of Focus on the Family. He leads a team of writers, culture experts and media specialists who help families raise kids faithfully in a media-saturated world. He will continue to work remotely with his team and looks forward to sharing his gifts at CPC. Henry (17 years old) is off to college this August at Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, and he is fully on board with this move. Annabeth (15 years old) is heading into 10th grade, and Maggie (13 years old) will be a freshman in high school. Both are anticipating this new season with hope and adventure. Although there is sadness in leaving, there is high anticipation for how God will use their family at CPC. All of the kids are involved in the youth group and ministry at First Pres, and the girls are looking forward to being very involved at our church. Jennifer enjoys reading, writing, swimming, walking their dog (Winston), cheering her daughters on in their sports and listening to Henry play guitar. She’s an avid Denver Nuggets, Iowa Hawkeye basketball, and Indiana Fever fan, and she is hoping for a better Denver Bronco season!
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If you have any questions, please reach out to any member of our Pastor Search Team or the elders on Session. We give thanks to God for His faithfulness throughout the search process, and we thank you for praying for us and all the candidates we considered. We are excited to introduce you to Jennifer, and it is with joy that we look forward to the congregational meeting on July 28th. We are excited about this next season of ministry at Carmel Presbyterian Church. To God be the glory!
Yours in Christ,
The Pastor Search Team
Matt Bell and Susan Kuhlman, co-chairs, Kathy Gray, John Perkins, Chuck Stees, Deanna Tovar de la Vega, Josh Warburg
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