PUC Welcomes New Lead Pastor Nate Furness

The Pacific Union College Church is thrilled to announce and welcome their new Lead Pastor, Nate Furness, his wife Jennie, and their sons Alex and Anders. On Saturday, February 4, 2023, the Northern California Conference and local church leadership officially installed Pastor Nate during the sabbath worship service. 

Growing up in Orange County, CA., as a pastor’s kid, Pastor Nate would watch his father and knew he wanted to be a pastor. Although he knew what it meant to be a pastor, he wasn’t ready to fulfill that obligation during his undergrad years. “I had some growing to do,” shares Pastor Nate. “After I married Jennie in 2005, I knew it was time to become a pastor.” 

During his college years, Pastor Nate attended PUC for two years, then graduated from Southern Adventist University with a Bachelor of Science in Health, Wellness, and Physical Education, following a Masters of Theological Studies degree from La Sierra University. He started his pastoral ministry at Westminster Good Samaritan SDA Church in Orange County for two years, then became the lead pastor at the Costa Mesa SDA church for nine years.

For the last five years, he served as lead pastor of the Napa Community Seventh-day Adventist Church and was a pastor and teacher for the Southeastern California Conference for 16 years. With a passion for Adventist education, Pastor Nate accepted the lead pastor position at PUC. 

His spiritual focus for the campus is to prepare young people to be missionaries in their professional context. “We want to prepare nurses, psychologists, filmmakers, teachers, pastors, and others to share the love of Jesus with everyone they encounter,” said Pastor Nate. He also wants to disciple and mentor young people and demonstrate that life is joyful and better in the community. “I love that there is a variety of people on campus. I look forward to working with Admin and the various departments to lean into our spiritual development.” 

The Furness family is excited to be part of the PUC community and looks forward to building connections between the college and the church. “I love that we live in a community where we run into people we know all the time,” shares Pastor Nate. “I love the campus. I love that PUC has hundreds, if not thousands, of acres to explore on bike and foot.” With hobbies such as cycling and traveling with his family, PUC is a great location for their family. 

PUC feels extremely blessed to have Pastor Nate lead our church and students. He looks forward to working with students again and has hope in his personal life and church community that we will reveal Jesus by loving one another.