Meet our Pastor

We wanted to take a moment to introduce ourselves as the new pastor family of Willow Creek Cumberland Presbyterian Church. After graduating from Bethel University, I served as the Youth Minister and Recreation Director at Fairfield Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Fairfield, Illinois from 2013 to 2023. In August of 2017, I married Taylor at Brush Creek, where our Presbyterial Church Camps are hosted. She quickly became an instrumental part of the youth ministry program in Fairfield. We have enjoyed many overseas mission trips throughout the years as well as serving through organizations here in the States.

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In May of 2021, I completed my Master of Divinity degree through Oakland City University and was ordained for ministry in the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. In May of 2022, our son August was born, and not long after, we began feeling a strong desire to move back home to Casey. After much prayer and some uncertainty about what God was calling us to, it became clear that God had something else planned and that we needed to trust Him.

 

We officially resigned from Fairfield CPC, and in August of 2023, we packed up our lives, our one-year-old, and moved back to Casey, where much of our family lives. At the time, we did not have jobs secured or a house contract signed, but we trusted God to provide—and He did. On the very day we left Fairfield, we received two important phone calls. One was from the Federal Prison in Terre Haute, Indiana, offering me a position as a Staff Chaplain. The other was from a homeowner in Casey letting us know he would sign the contract on the house we were hoping to buy. We have now been citizens of Casey for the last two and a half years and have been incredibly blessed to live closer to family. Our first Sunday attending Willow Creek was also Tom Toner’s first Sunday with you, and after hearing his wonderful message, we decided we had to come back—at the very least to finish his sermon series! It also helped that we saw many familiar faces that we already knew and loved through camps, 4H clubs, and other Presbyterial events.

 

During the month of August, the idea first crossed my mind that God might be calling me to Willow Creek, an idea that was nowhere near my thoughts earlier in the year when the Session asked me to review the salary package to ensure it presented an appealing ministry opportunity. After several months of worshiping here and seeing how faithfully and willingly so many people at Willow Creek serve, we began to see how this might truly be where God was leading us.

 

As different Elders began discussing what a part-time pastor might look like for Willow Creek, the Search Committee invited me to join a meeting to discuss this possibility. It was during that conversation that it became clear how God was intertwining the path of the Sandiford family with the path of Willow Creek. Around that same time, Taylor lovingly encouraged me by saying, “You better tell them you will be their pastor tonight.”

 

While I do love my work as a prison chaplain, and will be retaining that position, there are aspects of ministry I am unable to fulfill in that role most notably, living life alongside the people of the congregation I serve at the prison. We look forward to being a part of that with you all at Willow Creek, seeing you in the community, celebrating marriages, welcoming new additions to families, supporting community events, and cheering on our youth in their activities (while we are Warriors at heart, we are excited to become Bluestreak fans too!). Please connect us with schedules of programs, games, or events your families and students are included in so we are able to support them.

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We also know that difficult times will come, and we want you to know that we hope to be a family you can lean on in moments of need. We have loved worshiping with you over the past several months, and we are now excited to officially partner with you and shepherd the members of Willow Creek Cumberland Presbyterian Church.

 

With gratitude and excitement,

Reverend Holton Sandiford
Taylor and Auggie Sandiford