Pastor Jerry McCann
Senior Pastor

What do you do at Hillcrest?

As Senior Pastor, I am the primary preaching pastor and am part of a team that leads the church in its vision, direction and administration. This includes overseeing and directing the efforts of our ministry team, who serve as a catalyst for energizing and encouraging the church’s ministries.  

How long have you been at Hillcrest?

God called me to Hillcrest in the summer of 1999.

Family Information:

God has blessed me with my lovely wife Dell (who has taught school, run a library, managed a dental office, and is currently employed at a bus tour and brokerage company), and two sons: Liam - who recently graduated from Fuller Theological Seminary and is Interim Pastor at Temple Baptist Church in Los Angeles, CA.; Ryan – a Wheaton College graduate teaches Special Education and Music in Batavia, IL and is a part time member of the music ministry team at First Baptist Church, Geneva, IL (leading worship and conducting both choir and orchestra).      

Education:

I hold a B.S. in Education from the University of Maine, have a year of graduate school credit in counseling from the University of Maine, and a Masters of Divinity degree (MDiv) from Bethel Theological Seminary in St. Paul, MN (where I served as a teaching assistant for the Preaching Department for two years).

Tell us a little bit about your spiritual journey:

My mother insisted on her sons being in church on Sundays. Consequently, I can’t remember a time when I didn’t believe in Jesus. The Gospel was simply presented to me as: this is the way things are. Baptized at the age of 10, I led my church youth group where I was merciless in my questioning of our pastor about all things spiritual, and served as chaplain of my high school Key Club. After marrying, Dell and I became active in different churches as we moved around the country where my business career took us. I often taught adult Sunday school classes, led a youth group that met in our home at one church we were part of, and found myself filling in for the pastor at the pulpit when he was absent. Throughout all our experiences, people kept asking, when was I going to go into ministry?  “When God calls me and I can’t do anything else,” was my constant response. Finally, while working in Chicago, God did call me, and I had people in the churches I’d served in over the years affirm my call. I enrolled in seminary in June of 1992, and began to pastor my first church, five months later. 

     
What did you do before you started working at Hillcrest?

I was in sales and marketing with major food companies for over 20 years (for such products/companies as Kraft, Dial Soap, Armour Hot Dogs, Banquet Frozen Foods, Popsrite Popcorn, 3 Minute Brand Oats, and the American Dairy Association).  My last business position was as, Senior Vice President, Advertising and Marketing Services, and acting CEO of the American Dairy Association, United Dairy Industries.  Prior to God’s calling me to Hillcrest, I was pastor at Country Roads Church in Stacey, MN for 7 years and President of the Minnesota General Conference, Mid East District Ministerial Group.

Tell us about a few influential (or favorite) books you’ve read:

Beyond Scripture the books I’ve found most helpful to my spiritual growth have been: Desiring God by John Piper, Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis, The Jesus I Never Knew by Philip Yancey,  Follow Me by Jan David Hettinga, The Unity of the Bible by Daniel P. Fuller, The Reason for God in An Age of Reason by Timothy Keller, and Experiencing God: Knowing and Doing His Will by Henry Blackaby and Claude King.

I also enjoy reading historical fiction (e.g., Jeff and Michael Shaara’s books) and action adventure novels (e.g., by authors such as James Rollins, Thomas Perry, and William Dietrich).