Millwood Pres welcomes Rev. Craig Goodwin

Before the Rev. Craig Goodwin accepted his job as pastor of Millwood Presbyterian Church he was considering going to work at a church in Seattle.

In the end he was lured to the Spokane Valley area because of the church’s congregation and because the area seemed to be an ideal environment in which to raise his 2- and 4-year-old daughters. “I had a sense that the congregation was really spiritually hungry and wanted to grow spiritually,” Goodwin said. “That stood out to me.”

Another thing that stood out was the plethora of longtime members at the church, many of whom have attended services faithfully for decades. He also sensed a desire on the part of the congregation to do something new. “People are eager to do new things,” he said.

He grew up in Tacoma and Kent, Wash., and got a degree in business from the University of Washington. “I didn’t really sense my call to ministry until my junior year,” he said. He finished his degree and then attended Fuller Seminary in Pasadena, Calif., to earn his Master of Divinity degree.

He worked as an associate pastor at a church in Houston for nearly eight years, as did his wife, Nancy, whom he met at Fuller. She is also an ordained minister and plans to work as a fill-in pastor, taking the pulpit at area churches while pastors are on vacation. “She’ll be in engaged in a variety of ministries here,” Goodwin said.

Though he arrived in town at the beginning of the month, Goodwin and his family will be officially welcomed to the community during an installation service Sunday at 4 p.m. Goodwin’s father-in-law, Donn Moomaw, will preach. Moomaw is the former pastor of Bel Aire (Calif.) Presbyterian Church, which counted President Ronald Reagan among its members. Moomaw prayed at Reagan’s inauguration.

Millwood Presbyterian is at 3223 N. Marguerite Road.