Meet Our Pastors
We are the Willetts, Kristin and Brandon to most that we meet. We are ordained pastors within the PC(USA). We have both spent our entire adult lives doing ministry within local congregations and more broadly in camp ministries and para church work. We met each other in the context of congregational ministry and have found that serving God together is essential to who we are.
Reverend Kristin Willett
Reverend Brandon Willett
We both grew up in the Phoenix Metro area and received undergraduate degrees from Northern Arizona University. A year after getting married in 2003, we headed to Princeton Theological Seminary to pursue our Masters of Divinity. Following seminary, Kristin accepted a pastor position at Pinnacle Presbyterian Church in Scottsdale, AZ and spent 5 amazing years working with that congregation to shape faith filled lives and impact the world together. From there we headed to Miles City, MT to co-pastor a small rural congregation. Miles City taught us so much about the beauty of community and how friends become family. Our congregation lived their faith and blessed the larger community. We were blessed to live and minister there, but we felt a strong tugging on our hearts to return home.
While in Montana, through the efforts of our Presbytery, we were exposed to the 1001 New Worshiping Community (NWC) initiative. The stories we read about how God was working through this new effort was inspiring, the people we spoke with were captivating. Those stories and people lit a spark within us to explore new ways of being the Church together.
In June of 2017, we left our ministry in Montana and returned to Arizona, this time settling in Anthem. Here we have started First Light Fellowship, a ministry of the Grand Canyon Presbytery and part of the 1001 New Worshiping Communities initiative. A ministry committed to inviting others into community and strengthening connections- connection with God, ourselves, our church family, and others.
In addition to spending the last 18 years of our lives in ministry, we have also partnered in parenting four amazing children. We are the proud parents of Micah (15), Graham (13), Levi (9), and Kennedy (7). They motivate us to serve God and to discover ways to reach people who are thus far not engaged with the Church.
Leadership Team
Shared leadership is an important part of who we are. In addition to our pastors, we have a leadership team comprised of local Anthem residents who have committed to sharing life and doing ministry together through First Light.
Our leadership team meets regularly to vision, plan, and pray for our the ministry God has invited us into. We are committed to creatively discerning how to live as disciples and bless the larger community, plus we have A LOT of fun together! We would love to get to know you and help you find your place in this community.
Give Support
We are able to continue offering creative, thoughtful, authentic ministry due to the financial support of worshipers and friends. We invite you to help us share God's light!
