Tara Beth Leach (born 1982) is an American

evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...

pastor and author.

Education

Leach was born in 1982. She has said she first felt called to ministry while in high school but was told she couldn't be a pastor as a woman. She has a BA in

youth ministry Youth ministry, also commonly referred to as youth group, is an age-specific religious ministry of faith groups or other religious organizations, usually from ages 12 to 30, whose mission is to involve and engage with young people who attend their ...

from

Olivet Nazarene University Olivet Nazarene University (ONU) is a private Nazarene university in Bourbonnais, Illinois. Named for its founding location, Olivet, Illinois, ONU was originally established as a grammar school in east-central Illinois in 1907. In the late 1930 ...

and an

MDiv For graduate-level theological institutions, the Master of Divinity (MDiv, ''magister divinitatis'' in Latin) is the first professional degree of the pastoral profession in North America. It is the most common academic degree in seminaries and di ...

from Northern Seminary, where she also worked as a

teaching assistant A teaching assistant (TA) or education assistant (EA) is an individual who assists a professor or teacher with instructional responsibilities. TAs include ''graduate teaching assistants'' (GTAs), who are graduate students; ''undergraduate teach ...

for

Scot McKnight Scot McKnight (born 1953) is an American New Testament scholar, historian of early Christianity, theologian, and author who has written widely on the historical Jesus, early Christianity and Christian living. He is currently the Julius R. Mante ...

Career

Leach was appointed Senior Pastor at First

Church of the Nazarene The Church of the Nazarene is an evangelical Christian denomination that emerged in North America from the Wesleyan-Holiness movement within Methodism during the late 19th century. The denomination has its headquarters in Lenexa, Kansas. and it ...

Pasadena Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial d ...

("PazNaz") in 2016, the first woman in the role. In 2017, she was the youngest female

megachurch A megachurch is a church with a very large membership that also offers a variety of educational and social activities. Most megachurches are Evangelical, although the term denotes a type of organization, not a denomination. A megachurch draws 2 ...

pastor in the United States. Since 2023, Tara Beth has served as the Senior Pastor of Good Shepherd Church in Naperville, Illinois. Leach's first book, ''Emboldened'', released in 2017, seeks to encourage women into

Christian ministry Christian ministry is the vocational work of living and teaching about faith, in the hopes of increasing the population of God's people done by the church, church officials, congregational members, and Jesus followers. The '' Cyclopedia of Bib ...

. Her 2021 book ''Radiant'' suggests church leaders need to look at themselves rather than culture to explain the trend away from church attendance.

Personal life

Leach married in 2006 and has two sons.

Publications

* * * * * *

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leach, Tara Beth Living people 1982 births Olivet Nazarene University alumni Northern Baptist Theological Seminary alumni American Nazarene ministers Women Christian clergy Writers from Chicago American women non-fiction writers 21st-century American women