About Jim Birchfield

Jim Birchfield was born in 1956 in Waukegan, Illinois. He received his bachelor’s degree from Michigan State University and a Master of Divinity and Doctor of Ministry from Fuller Theological Seminary. Prior to entering the ministry in 1992, he held several senior executive positions in the advertising and magazine publishing businesses, including a role as a senior vice president of the Detroit office of international advertising agency Campbell-Ewald. In 1992, Jim left the business world to enter the ministry and accepted his first call as director of high school ministry at Bel Air Presbyterian Church in Los Angeles, California. While at Bel Air, Jim also served as director of missions and ministry to singles before leaving in 1996 to accept a new call as associate pastor for young adults at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Newport Beach, California, an active church with over 3,000 members.

Over thirteen years, Jim held a variety of positions at St. Andrew’s, including associate pastor for families and singles, associate pastor for missions and discipleship and executive pastor. In his role as executive pastor, Jim preached on approximately half of the Sundays each year. While at St. Andrew’s, Jim led ten short-term mission trips to Egypt, Malawi, Romania, Poland and Kenya.

In his free time, Jim loves to play golf, is a huge sports fan and enjoys following college football, basketball and professional golf. Jim is a voracious reader, particularly of history, biography and fiction and spends much time staying current on theological and practical developments within the Christian faith.

The characteristic most often mentioned to the Pastor Nominating Committee is that Jim is a man of integrity. In fact, one reference told us, “Jim’s integrity is off the charts,” while another expressed “integrity is flat out his greatest strength.” Those close to Jim describe him as a visionary and a “wonderful, gifted leader” in a way that “lifts up and encourages the potential and development of others.” He has embraced a collaborative style of leadership and values empowering lay leaders. He is an approachable, accessible pastor and an effective preacher. Jim’s prior business experience helped shape his management style and he is described as an “excellent facilitator and mediator.” He is also considered to be a strong teacher and is passionate about discipleship and missions. Others have commented that Jim “works well with all ages,” is a “tremendous human being” and “a real professional at what he does.”

Theological Views

The following is an excerpt on Jim’s theological views taken from his résumé: “The most critical issues facing the church today are the same issues that faced the church 2,000 years ago. Though the symptoms may manifest themselves differently, the disease is of a spiritual nature. Although we were created to be in a relationship with God and in healthy relationships with each other, we are in fact broken, self-centered people struggling with fear, with a need to belong, with a need for purpose, and with alienation from each other and from God each day of our lives. I believe God calls the church to respond to such spiritual brokenness by sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ – to endeavor, as the community of God’s people, not only to witness about Jesus Christ, but to live as witnesses to the power of the alternative way of life taught and modeled by our Lord.

More specifically, I believe today’s church is challenged by the issues of consumerism and materialism that plague our surrounding culture. I believe the church suffers from a discipleship “deficit” wherein we have a lot of “members,” but fewer and fewer people committed to living as life-long followers of Jesus Christ. My response is to build my ministry on a high (and traditional) view of the authority of Scripture in the life of the believer, on the deity of Jesus Christ and on his role as our only source of salvation. Upon this foundation, then, is my firm commitment to both evangelization (extend the invitation) and to making and deploying disciples though education and service.”

The Birchfield Family

Jim and his wife Marta both grew up in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and met and fell in love while they were students at Ann Arbor Pioneer High School. The senior prom was one of their first dates. Both attended Michigan State University, and their extended families still live in Michigan. As a couple, Jim and Marta led couples covenant and discipleship groups and recently began to intentionally mentor a group of young adults and young couples. They also love to travel, serve together on mission trips and entertain.

Marta Birchfield is a certified public accountant and spent five years with Deloitte & Touche in Detroit and four years with Arthur Andersen in Los Angeles. After their children were born, Marta reduced her work schedule to make family her first priority and eventually left public accounting to establish her own consulting practice. A life-long Christian, she participated in foreign mission trips to Ghana, Malawi, Israel and Kenya. In addition to her participation in global missions, Marta volunteered her financial and organizational gifts to serve St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, The Shalimar Center (a local community development project), Kappa Alpha Theta Mom’s Club and her children’s school PTA. In her free time, Marta enjoys long walks with friends, swimming, yoga and tennis.

The Birchfields have two grown daughters. Lauren, 25, graduated from UCLA in 2006 with a degree in political science and from Harvard Law School in June 2009. She studied abroad at Oxford University and was a finalist for a Rhodes scholarship. Lauren recently accepted a position with the Blue Cross Blue Shield Foundation of Massachusetts where she will focus on health care policy. Emily, 22, graduated from UCLA in June 2009, with a degree in international development studies. Emily studied abroad in South Africa, served as a volunteer staff member for the high school ministry of Bel Air Presbyterian Church and participated in mission trips to Mexico, Egypt and Malawi. She entered the Peace Corps in January 2010, and expects to be assigned to an AIDS/HIV project somewhere in Sub-Saharan Africa. Family has always been a top priority for the Birchfields, with much time invested in supporting the girls and finding activities that allowed the family to spend time together, even, as Marta says, “when the teenagers really didn’t want to!”

Contact Info:

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