Rich Nathan
| Rich Nathan | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1955 New York City |
| Occupation | Pastor and Author |
| Spouse(s) | Marlene Nathan |
Rich Nathan (born December 1955) has been the senior Pastor of Vineyard Columbus since 1987. Nathan came to believe in Jesus at the age of 18. Prior to pastoring, he was an assistant professor of business law at The Ohio State University for five years. He has a Bachelor's degrees in history and religious studies at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. and a J.D. at Ohio State University's Moritz College of Law in Columbus, Ohio. Nathan has served on the National Board of Vineyard: A Community of Churches for more than a decade and is the Large Church Task Force Coordinator for the Vineyard. He is a popular national and international conference speaker and author of two books. Nathan has been noted as one of the strongest voices in favor of the Third Wave Movement.
Nathan has also been outspoken on the subject of faith and politics. In an interview with the Columbus Dispatch, he was quoted as saying:
We think the Gospel has political implications, but it's not partisan. And we don't think that either the Republicans or the Democrats have the sole possession of the implications of the Gospel.
Nathan has also been a major force for immigration reform, highlighting the issue in both sermons and op-eds. He advocates for a different plan than those traditionally offered for America's illegal immigrants, "a pathway to citizenship governed by a system of checks and balances."
Vineyard Columbus (formerly Vineyard Christian Fellowship of Columbus and Vineyard Church of Columbus) is a church in Westerville, Ohio. It is part of the Association of Vineyard Churches with headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas.
Vineyard Columbus dates back as a church to the late-1970s. Three different churches joined together to form the first church. The church remained independent of any larger group for a number of years, and after investigating a number of groups to join with, the leadership of the church decided on the Association of Vineyard Churches, led by John Wimber. They became the Vineyard Christian Fellowship of Columbus in 1987. Vineyard Columbus has experienced significant growth over the years, drawing over 9,000 people at its weekend worship services and becoming the largest church in the Vineyard movement today. It is a church that is self described as an "empowered evangelical" church, according to the definition in Rich Nathan and Ken Wilson's book Empowered Evangelicals that was published in the mid-1990s.
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