KYTN appoints Joel Sutherland as the new Ministerial Director

Conference administration is pleased to announce that, after much prayer and consideration, the Executive Committee extended an invitation of employment to Joel Sutherland as the new ministerial director. Sutherland will be starting the position on May 15, 2022, following the retirement of current Ministerial Director Kieth Noll on March 29.

Sutherland was born in Alaska. He felt the call ministry in his teenage years and, after receiving guidance from his father and a mentor, he enrolled at Southern Adventist University to pursue a B.A. in Theology. While at Southern, he completed the Soul-winning And Leadership Training (SALT) program – an evangelism course conducted in partnership with It Is Written.

During his time as a student, he also worked as First Year Experience mentor, completed a year as a Bible work coordinator in the Chattanooga First Church, served as the Student Ministerial Association (SMA) president and interned as the Interest and Media Coordinator for the Washington Conference Youth Rush. He graduated in 2014 and began his ministry in the Kentucky-Tennessee Conference, first working in the Camden, Parsons and Lobelville, Tenn., Churches, then transferring to the Pulaski and Lawrenceburg Churches. He was ordained on July 28 of 2020.

In 2021, Sutherland completed a Master of Ministry with an emphasis in Church Leadership Management from Southern Adventist University. Later that year , he accepted the call to work as a pastor at the Pennsylvania Conference. Sutherland has a heart for mission. Throughout his life, he has worked on evangelistic mission trips in the Philippines, Sierra Leone and North Carolina.

“I am excited to start this new position,” Sutherland said. “One of my passions is equipping and empowering people. I look forward to working with the conference staff and supporting the incredible set of pastors in Kentucky and Tennessee. I am just happy and humbled to be a part of what God is already doing in this conference.”

We look forward to welcoming back Joel Sutherland and his wife, Chelsea, to the Kentucky-Tennessee Family.

Joel Sutherland poses with his wife, Chelsea. The couple will be joining the Kentucky-Tennessee Conference on May 15, 2022, as Joel takes on the position of Ministerial Director.