Rev. Joel Ellis
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Joel Ellis was raised in a Christian home and has been in full-time preaching and pastoral ministry since late 1998. From 1998-2013 Joel served congregations in Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia and was invited to teach in other parts of the country and in eastern Europe. He has been the pastor of Reformation Church in Arizona (originally called Community Christian Church) since 2013. Joel and his wife, Kirstie, have five children, all of whom were homeschooled and are faithfully serving the Lord.​
(Read more HERE)
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Joel was raised and originally called to ministry in the Churches of Christ. After many years of Bible study, the Lord graciously opened the eyes of Joel and his family to the doctrine of justification by faith alone and the riches of God’s unmerited and sovereignly bestowed grace. Joel and his family remained for a time in the Churches of Christ teaching the good news of salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, for the glory of God alone. Joel accepted the call to become Senior Pastor of Community Christian Church in 2013, and he and his family moved to Arizona.
(Read more HERE)
Joel arrived at CCC in September 2013 and began encouraging the congregation to bring and read their Bibles as he preached expository sermons every Lord’s Day. Several months after his arrival, Joel began preaching through Paul’s letter to the Romans, and that series would forever change CCC and their pastor. In the midst of significant controversy and division, God remained faithful. Even as many left because of the changes that had been made to the worship and preaching, the Lord led many new families to the church who longed for biblical preaching and Reformed worship. The Lord had begun true reformation in the congregation, and he continued to teach and reform their pastor as well.
(Read more HERE)
In January 2015 CCC was renamed Reformation Bible Church. The next year, the congregation became part of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church (OPC), and Joel was examined, received, and installed as a Minister of Word and Sacrament into the Presbytery of Southern California. During eight years in the OPC, Joel served on the Presbytery’s Credentials Committee, as chairman of its Missions Committee, as a commissioner each year to the OPC’s General Assembly, and in 2024 as Moderator of the Presbytery.
In 2024, the congregation of Reformation OPC voted to withdraw from the Orthodox Presbyterian Church and petition to join the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches (CREC).
(Read more HERE)
Joel enjoys reading theology, philosophy, history, and classic literature, studying languages. He is currently doing doctoral work in the area of humanities and moral philosophy. He has studied, trained, and taught martial arts since 1992, was a runner for many years, completing several ultra-marathons, and enjoys training with kettlebells and clubbells.
You can find Joel’s writing on Substack, his older blog (The Power of Grace), and at Kuyperian Commentary.
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