Clay Muinzer: New Pastor At Trailhead Christian Fellowship Church
Author: Matt Nelson
Clay Muinzer: New Pastor at Trailhead Christian Fellowship Church
Matt Nelson
Trailhead Christian Church Pastor Mark Roelofs and his wife Beth moved to Iowa in September. Associate Pastor Clay Muinzer has been filling in and doing most of the sermons since that time, along with Elders Levi Van Zee and Tom Eliel. On Sunday, January 26th, the congregation voted Clay to be the new Lead Pastor of the Church.
Clay was born and raised in Lafayette, IN. He started playing the guitar in his church’s praise band at age 15. His dad was a firefighter, and Clay went to school to also be a firefighter, getting his bachelor’s degree in Fire Science. When he started applying for career jobs, he applied to fire departments but was also encouraged to apply for church worship leader jobs. Although he was more qualified to be a firefighter, he was hired as a worship leader by a large church in the Nashville, TN area at age 23.
Though the job was a valuable overall experience, due to some hard leadership dynamics, it ended poorly. “It was through that season of pain that God started to make a pastor out of me. My love for music started to fade, and my love for the Word started to increase.” Clay and his wife, Makinze, stayed in the Nashville area for about five years and enjoyed their time there. Through great church experiences, Clay had a handful of faithful, Godly men who discipled and mentored him. “We would meet for coffee and read through the Scriptures. They would ask me some good questions and help me see what was there. I am indebted to those guys for who I am as a pastor and a man.”
Clay and Makinze came out to Montana on an anniversary trip in 2017. “We had never been out this way before and instantly fell in love with the slower pace of life.” They both felt the Lord’s leading and made the move to Townsend in their fifth wheel in May of 2019. Clay connected with Pastor Mark right away, and he and Makinze started attending Trailhead shortly after they moved to town.
At the time, Clay was running a non-profit called 13forty4 and was not actively looking for a church job. About six months into Trailhead’s search for an Associate Pastor, he was approached by a few men on the search committee about applying for the open position. After thinking and praying about it, he applied and was hired as the Associate Pastor in October of 2020. “I have loved my job as the Associate Pastor here. I have had a chance to do a lot of cool things and experience a lot of what it means to be a pastor. I’ve gained a lot of funeral, counseling, preaching, and overall pastoral experience.”
Clay has recently finished becoming a certified Biblical counselor through the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors. He has also been pursuing his Master’s Seminary Degree for the last two years, with the goal of finishing that degree by the end of 2026.
When asked if the new role as Lead Pastor intimidated him, he responded, “That is an excellent question. It really doesn’t, and the reason why is because it is totally the grace of God that has brought me to where I am now. I don’t wake up and think that I have to make this all happen. I have seen time and time again that the Lord provides. The Lord equips. So yes, it is a big job, but I trust in the Lord. And that is not just a Christian answer, that’s how I really feel and what I really believe.”
Clay, now 34, wants to raise his family here and can fully visualize being at Trailhead for many years to come. He said, “The blessing of this new role is that I am doing it in a church I already love. I am in a town I already love. I am preaching to people who I already know and love. It is really God’s grace.”
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Image 1 Caption: Clay Muinzer, New Pastor at Trailhead Christian Fellowship Church
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