Theologian and author Gavin Ortlund has announced he is leaving his pastorate in southern California to become a full-time theology YouTuber, under his father’s Nashville-based ministry.
Gavin Ortlund, currently lead pastor of First Baptist Church of Ojai, California, announced the transition in a video posted to his YouTube channel, Truth Unites.
“YouTube is such a strategic place for ministry,” said Ortlund in the October 18 video. “What I’ve concluded is, this pathway is the most fruitful way I can spend my life for (God’s) purposes.”
As part of this transition, Ortlund announced he will move his family to Nashville, Tenn. And Truth Unites will merge with Renewal Ministries based in Franklin, Tenn., led by his parents, Ray Ortlund Jr. and his wife, Jani.
Gavin Ortlund will also become theologian-in-residence at Immanuel Nashville, a prominent Acts 29-affiliated congregation his father founded and pastored for 11 years. The elder Ortlund transitioned out of the pastorate in 2019 to lead Renewal Ministries. Today, Ray Ortlund Jr. continues to serve as a “Pastor to Pastors” at Immanuel Nashville, according to the church’s website.
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“Gavin has a very unique qualification as a theologian, and I’m eager for us to tap into that,” said Immanuel Lead Pastor TJ Tims at Sunday services on October 22. Tims added that church leaders look forward to Ortlund teaching occasionally from the pulpit.
In a statement to The Roys Report (TRR), Ortlund said becoming a full-time theology YouTuber reflects his desire to see “revival and renewal” through a focused form of ministry.
“In my time on YouTube, I’ve been blown away by the spiritual needs there and the opportunities,” he said. “My heart longs to help people find assurance, peace, (and) a sense of security in the gospel. I’m trying to be obedient to how I see God leading me to do that.”
TRR reached out to First Baptist Church of Ojai, regarding the leadership transition, but did not receive a response. In his announcement video, Ortlund briefly referred to his resignation as senior pastor from the southern California church. “Every Sunday, there’s a heaviness and sadness because we love our church family,” he said.
Ortlund added that he is excited to serve in a part-time teaching role at Immanuel Nashville, where he has deep family connections. Gavin and his wife, Esther, are parents of five children. “We’re overjoyed at the opportunity to be closer to our families,” he told TRR.
Leaders at the Nashville church include assistant pastor Barnabas Piper, son of prominent evangelical-Reformed author and pastor John Piper; and Christianity Today Editor-in-Chief Russell Moore, listed online as a minister in residence.
Immanuel Nashville is one of the most well-known churches affiliated with Acts 29, a prominent church planting network that has made recent headlines with multiple controversies.
Despite the role at Immanuel, Gavin Ortlund said he will be chiefly devoted to producing and promoting his online videos.
Launched in August 2020, his YouTube channel, Truth Unites, has since grown to more than 41,000 subscribers—his most popular video receiving over 117,000 views.
“The opportunities are just unbelievable,” said Ortlund, framing his video ministry as a response to trends of younger generations’ decline in religious participation.
“About 40 million people have stopped going to church,” he said in the announcement video. “The percentage of people who don’t have any religious affiliation has spiked up to 30 percent. Thirty years ago, it was only five percent. It’s just this massive sea change, especially in the younger generation—so many young people (are) leaving the faith.”
His website lists endorsements for the online ministry from prominent evangelical theologians including D.A. Carson, co-founder of The Gospel Coalition, William Lane Craig of Houston Christian University, and Jennifer Powell McNutt of Wheaton College.
Prior to launching his YouTube channel, Ortlund had blogged at his personal website since 2007.
Gavin Ortlund’s brother—Illinois pastor, Dane Ortlund—has been embroiled in a controversy concerning allegations of bullying and retaliation. As TRR has reported, the state of Illinois previously found “substantial evidence” that Naperville Presbyterian Church, led by Dane Ortlund, had retaliated against a longtime female staffer after she filed a discrimination complaint.
In his video announcement, Gavin Ortlund noted he looks forward to ministry with his family. Ortlund called it an “all-the-stars aligning opportunity” to merge with Renewal Ministries, a parachurch teaching ministry founded in 1979 by his grandfather, Ray Ortlund Sr.
“When I think of my heroes, I think of four people,” said Gavin Ortlund in the October 18 video. “I think of my parents, and I think of my dad’s parents . . . They are such special people, such joyful servants of Christ.”
Renewal Ministries, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, has six non-staff board members who are listed online. “It just feels healthy to have a context of accountability and support and relationship,” said Gavin Ortlund.
Ortlund views YouTube as a “strategic mission field” to address “spiritual anxieties on many hearts right now,” he told TRR. “95% of teenagers watch YouTube. Many young people go there looking for answers to ultimate questions . . . I never dreamed that YouTube would be so much fun, so joyful, and such an opportunity to meet needs.”
Popular theology YouTuber Mike Winger of BibleThinker commented on Ortlund’s video announcement.
“This is good,” said Winger. “I know from personal experience that it’s a really hard move to make, to focus so much on online ministry and miss out on so many blessings of in-person ministry, but it’s a win for the kingdom.”
Editorial Note: This story has been updated. Upon review of this story, one line incorrectly stated the nature of TRR’s email interview with Gavin Ortlund. He was not initially asked specifically about the allegations concerning his brother, Dane Ortlund, but another question pertaining to his brother’s ministry. The line has been removed. We regret the mistake.
Freelance journalist Josh Shepherd writes on faith, culture, and public policy for several media outlets. He and his family live in the Washington, D.C. area.
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11 Responses
It’s nice when a young person can get set up in the family business.
But he’s still on a church payroll as a “theologian-in-residence” at a church – an Acts 29 church – that apparently is also platforming Barnabas Piper and Russell Moore. That’s something to think about, isn’t it?
This is not true, Amy. Gavin is not on our payroll. He is generously giving of his time and talents to strengthen the saints of Immanuel Nashville, as do so many others, for the Lord’s sake. I would appreciate it if you would kindly correct this false narrative.
““It just feels healthy to have a context of accountability and support and relationship,” said Gavin Ortlund.”
———————
huh…. there wasn’t accountability, support, and relationship in his pastor job in Ojai?
I feel it’s not entirely clear in the article, but the context indicates that that comment may have been about the board of Renewal Ministries rather than about his YouTube ministry.
Normal run-of-the-mill pastoral transition story.
The mention and linking to stories of Acts 29 controversies and controversy surrounding his brother has me wondering about the relevance of those.
Julie Roys and associates have done yeoman’s work in many areas exposing church abuse and clergy scandal. But is there an attempt of guilt by association here?
Gavin Ortlund’s Youtube material is very good. He has a profile which would make a ministry transition newsworthy. But why bring the other stories into it?
Controversies re: his brother’s ministry conduct and the network to which his father happens to belong are each newsworthy in their context. But to link these stories within this one implies there is some connection between all. Or at least invites that inference. It has me questioning the journalistic rationale.
We see in Evangelical Christendom a tendency to have family fiefdoms where the business of professional Christianity is passed down from one generation to the next. Frequently that has been problematic, as Julie Roys so frequently has had to point out. Call it an overabundance of caution but I think it’s good that we keep a watchful eye on this phenomenon.
The same applies in the other direction though, where we see a tendency among those who expose corruption to be potentially to quick on the draw or too cynical in their outlook, so an overabundance of caution and keeping a watchful eye on them is also good.
I agree with you Steve. I share the same concerns. The saying “To a person with a hammer, everything looks like a nail” comes to mind.
Has Russell Moore ever addressed the controversies surrounding so many Acts 29 churches?
I did not realize he was associated with one
I have nothing but the greatest respect for Gavin Ortlund. His “irenic” approach as he calls it has won respect and friendship among other faith traditions. The implication of the author and the comments here that we should be suspicious and critical under the guise of accountability is deeply troubling.
I’m commenting late on this article because I found the need to take a break from this website. I’m grateful for Julie’s investigative reporting. I am also grateful for the theological and spiritual growth I’ve made through Gavin‘s ministry.