If you were in our gatherings this past Sunday, you saw us introduce the newest member to the Hillside staff! Kelly Roth has joined us as our new Growing in Community Pastor and we are SO EXCITED about what God has planned for our church as we seek to grow closer together in community.

Over the past year and a half, as we have walked through a pandemic and all the things that have spiraled from that, we realize community is more vital than ever. We were not meant to do life alone, which is why we are so grateful to have Kelly on our staff and leading the charge into authentic, Biblical and thriving community.

We’ve put together a list of some fun and helpful info that we thought would help you get to know our new Growing in Community Pastor a bit better…

In her own words, here are 10 things you should know about Kelly Roth:

1. I am so excited about my new role as Growing in Community Pastor and working with the team to help connect people to Jesus and to one another!
2. I served as part of the pastoral team at Cucamonga Christian Fellowship for 20 years. I started as the worship pastor and added many roles over the years – Life Stages pastor, leadership development and executive pastor.
3. For the past seven years, I worked as campus pastor at Azusa Pacific University – first as the executive pastor working directly with Pastor Woody Morwood, and then as the campus ministry pastor, helping students on their spiritual formation journey through relationship-based discipleship and pastoral care. I also served for 10 years as a SoulQuest chaplain for graduate students in the School of Music.
4. I have two grown kids who are both married with kids of their own. I have three grandchildren and one more coming in the spring. Both families live in Rancho and still serve at the church they grew up in. I am so grateful that we all live within a 2-mile radius of each other!
5. I was born and raised in the Sacramento area. I came to SoCal for college and settled here in 1985.
6. I was a Music Education and Vocal Performance major at APU with plans to be a music teacher. I went back and got a graduate degree in Organizational Leadership to better serve the Church.
7. I LOVE vocal jazz music – my favorite singer is Ella Fitzgerald.
8. I have known about Hillside for a long time. Many of my friends sent their kids to Upward Bound Sports and the Arts Academy. Hillside has always had a very positive witness among my friends.
9. I visited Hillside for the first time last fall and then started coming regularly in the spring. I was really captured by the vision of seeing God’s hope transform our cities one story at a time. I am a firm believer that every person has a story to tell and that every story matters in the Kingdom. I used to think that I had to be really good at something, or really successful, in order to have a story worth sharing; but I have found that very often it is our everyday experiences, even with pain and disappointment, that can help us connect in the most meaningful ways. When we share our real lives with people, both the joyful moments and the painful moments, and we support each other with God’s love and compassion, THIS is where the good news of Jesus comes to life.
10. My current favorite piece of Scripture is Romans 15:13, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”