Ryan Paulson is a passionate Jesus follower, husband and dad. He is honored to serve Jesus as the Lead Pastor at Emmanuel Faith Community Church, and finds great joy and purpose teaching the scriptures. He loves to creatively communicate the timeless truths of scripture in a relevant and culturally engaging way

As the father of three and husband to Kelly, a high school English teacher, he strives to honor God by living like Jesus whether he’s leading the staff at Emmanuel Faith, having fun with his family, helping coach baseball, or spending time with Jesus.

In the summer of 2019, Ryan — who has a Master of Divinity from Bethel Seminary — was voted in as the new Lead Pastor of Emmanuel Faith, becoming the fifth lead pastor in the church’s 80-year history. Previously Ryan was the lead pastor at South Fellowship for seven years, after serving as Emmanuel Faith’s college pastor from 2007-2012.

With a conviction that the local church is the hope of the world, Ryan has dedicated his life to preaching the gospel and building disciples. He sees his role as a pastor as equipping the saints for the work of the ministry (Ephesians 4:11-16). He firmly believes that every person carries the image of God; Jesus is who he claimed to be; his resurrection from the dead changes everything; the Gospel is truly good news; we can learn to be Jesus’ apprentices, and the Spirit changes people.

In his spare time, Ryan enjoys running, reading, drinking good coffee, and is a connoisseur of fine(ish) mexican food.