Rev. Chris West is an ordained minister and seasoned nonprofit leader. He spends
most of his time asking what it looks like for a city to flourish, and then going to find the
people already doing it.
In January 2027, he will be stepping in as the next President of GoodCities. He has
spent the past decade serving in a variety of nonprofit and ministry contexts, all
focused on building the kingdom in cities around the country.
He studied at Campbell University and Duke Divinity School, where he earned at MDiv
while serving at The Ormond Center and working for a global missions foundation. He
picked up certificates in Faith-Based Nonprofit Leadership at Wake Forest and Asset-Based Community Development at DePaul, which rewired how he sees cities.
His expertise has been sought by organizations such as the Conservation Fund,
PCUSA, Alliance for Secure AI, Creation Justice Ministries, the Ormond Center, Safe
Families RDU, the Moviegoer Fund, and the CBF Offering for Global Missions, among
others.
Outside of his role with GoodCities, Chris serves as the pastor of care and groups at
Northside Community Church. Chris loves serving in the local church and finds that he
is a better leader when grounded in the local church.
When he’s not at work, Chris loves to hike, cook, and read. He’s a big fan of poetry and
enjoys writing devotionals. John Perkins, Wendell Berry, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and
Eugene Peterson are never far from whatever he's working on, and he's a faithful
reader of Inkwell and Ekstasis, among many other outlets. He and his wife, Melissa, live
outside Raleigh with their two sons and an energetic puppy.
Chris believes every city already has the gospel being lived out in it by ordinary saints.
His job, as he sees it, is to help them find each other.