Pastor Jerry McCann
Senior Pastor

What do you do at Hillcrest?

 I am the primary preaching pastor and am part of a team which leads the church in its vision, direction and administration. This includes overseeing and directing the efforts of our ministry team, who serve as a catalyst for energizing and encouraging the church’s ministries.  

How long have you been at Hillcrest?

 I’ve been at Hillcrest since 1999.

Family Information:

 I’ve been married to my lovely wife Dell for over 34 years, and we have two sons: Liam who is enrolled in Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, CA, and Ryan, a  graduate of the music conservatory at Wheaton College and who lives and works in the Chicago, IL area. 

Education:

I hold a B.S. in Education from the University of Maine, a year of graduate school credit in counseling from the University of Maine, and (23 years later) a Masters of Divinity degree (MDiv) from Bethel Theological Seminary in St. Paul, MN (where I served as a teaching assistant for the Preaching Department for two years).

Fun Stuff:
Favorite color: Blue, because it is the color of my wife’s eyes.

Favorite Food: I’m basically a meat and potatoes kind of guy, but love to eat clams and scallops when we get away to Maine. 

Hobbies: I read, refinish old furniture, visit historical sites and vacation in Maine.   

Tell us about a few influential (or favorite) books you’ve read:

Beyond the Bible, Desiring God by John Piper (actually almost everything he’s written), Follow Me by Jan David Hettinga, The Unity of the Bible by Daniel P. Fuller, and Dallas Willard’s books are good too. I also enjoy reading historical fiction, and action adventure novels.

Spiritual Stuff:

Tell us a little bit about your spiritual journey:

My mother insisted on her sons being in church on Sundays. Consequently, I can’t remember a time when I didn’t believe in Jesus. The Gospel was simply presented to me as: this is the way things are. Baptized at the age of 10, I led the church youth group where I was merciless in my questioning of our pastor about all things spiritual, and served as chaplain of my high school Key Club. After marrying, Dell and I became active in different churches as we moved around the country where my business career took us. I often taught adult Sunday School classes, led a youth group that met in our home at one church we were part of, and in smaller churches, found myself filling in for the pastor at the pulpit when he was absent. Throughout all our experiences, people kept asking, when was I going to go into ministry?  “When God calls me and I can’t do anything else,” was my constant response. Finally, while working in Chicago, God did call me, and I had people in the churches I’d served in over the years affirm my call. I enrolled in seminary in June of 1992, and began to pastor my first church, five months later. 

     
What did you do before you started working at Hillcrest?

 I was in sales and marketing with major food companies for over 20 years (for such products/companies as Kraft, Dial Soap, Armour Hot Dogs, Banquet Frozen Foods, Popsrite Popcorn, 3 Minute Brand Oats, and the American Dairy Association). Just prior to God’s calling me to Hillcrest, I was pastor at Country Roads Church in Stacey, MN for 7 years and President of the Minnesota General Conference, Mid East District Ministerial Group.