Methodist Minister Promoted to Senior Pastor

Two years ago, when Dr. John Nagel signed on as interim minister at the Palisades United Methodist Church for four months, he never considered it a career revival, leading to his promotion to senior pastor this week. Indeed with 42 years experience in parishes as varied as Wilshire UMC to Ojai UMC, Nagel had intended to retire. ‘At the time, I had a problem with my eyes lead me to believe that my career was over,’ he says. ‘But my vision was restored and I began to think that I still had a lot to give.’ Initially, Nagel agreed to step in as associate pastor for senior pastor the Rev. Karin Ellis while she was on maternity leave. But the four months stretched into two years, and Nagel is prepared to serve for a few more. Bishop Mary Ann Swenson appointed him senior pastor as of July 1. ‘Barbara and I really love it here, and now that I am the senior pastor, our commute will be easier as we will be living in the parsonage on Via de la Paz.’ His wife Barbara assists her husband in the day-to-day business of the church and accompanies him to the church every day. A few years ago the Nagels moved to Camarillo to be closer to their two sons and seven grandchildren. But, for now, Nagel sees his challenge to bring the Palisades’ founding church back into the community. ‘For years this church has struggled with its identity,’ he says. ‘I will try to let the community know that we’re here, that we’re a family church. ‘My perspective and my ministry is a positive one. God is a loving, forgiving and caring god, and we’re a church that’s the same.’ The Palisades United Methodist church is as old as the community, officially founded in 1922. One of its founding members Martha Patterson joined as a child in 1925, and the congregation of longtime members continues to foster a loving, caring community as well as shouldering a multitude of outreach programs. But as with all mainline churches, vitality depends on building membership, and that will continue to be Nagel’s focus. Currently, about 200 attend Sunday service. ‘We are in the process of trying to transition to open the church up for young families,’ Nagel says. Palisadian Chris Fracchiolla has recently been appointed by the Annual Conference an associate minister. A longtime member of the church and volunteer, Fracchiolla is going back to seminary and will work full time in the family ministry. He and youth minister Joey Hargrove are reaching out to families with after-school programs such as Treasure Island and the Captain’s program. Eighty kids have signed up for the church vacation bible camp. ‘I think that families will find a place within the community that is different from other mainline churches,’ Nagel says. ‘Our services are more informal than other Methodist services and I will really emphasize the personal touch in our worship service.’ Maybe Nagel didn’t know what he wanted to do when he was grown up, but the odds that he’d join the Methodist ministry were pretty good. His grandfather and his father were both Methodist ministers, each with over 40 years in Southern California churches. After receiving his bachelor’s degree from California Western University in San Diego, Nagel studied for the ministry at the Claremont School of Theology, and then directed his focus to parish ministry. ‘I always like local church ministry because I consider myself a people-person,’ he says. He was youth and education pastor for the Wilshire UMC and the Torrance UMC, senior minister in Ojai, for five years, and also in North Hollywood for another five years. He served as senior minister for the Westlake UMC for 20 years and the Rancho Bernardo UMC for three years. While Nagel says that he will be spending most of his time on the ‘nuts and bolts’ of the church, he plans to be actively engaged in evangelism and participate in the Palisades Ministerial Organization.