Introducing Elliot Otteson from Grace Community Covenant

With roots in both the Pacific Northwest and the Covenant Church, Elliot Otteson brings his heart for evangelism and following the Holy Spirit to his role as lead pastor at Grace Community Covenant Church. He shares about the church’s current focus on the gospel and moving ministry across the street to reach the neighbors and community in Olympia, Washington.

Transcript

Erik Cave: Hey everyone, this is Erik Cave, your Director of NextGen Ministries for the Pacific Northwest Conference, and I'm here with my friend Elliot Otteson. He's the new lead pastor at Grace Community Covenant Church in Olympia, Washington. I am really excited for the opportunity to introduce him to you today. So Elliot, welcome. We're really glad you're here and glad you're part of our conference. Let's begin, and I'll just ask you to introduce yourself by sharing a bit about your personal and ministry background.

Elliot Otteson: Thank you so much, Erik. This is super fun. Just a little bit about me: I was born in the Bellevue-Seattle area and raised in Portland, Oregon. I've been up and down that I-5 corridor hundreds of times. Growing up, both sides of my grandparents were Covenanters, and my parents were kind of between that—we were always in non-denominational churches, but I had a connection to the Covenant through my grandparents. I loved these churches, like Newport Covenant in Bellevue and Trinity Covenant down in Salem, and have great memories there growing up.

I've loved pastors ever since I was a kid and really admired them. I gave my life to Jesus at the age of four and felt called into ministry at the age of six. I actually brought it up to my parents at six, and they were like, "Whoa, that's a big deal." So it's been something I've been growing into for 32 years, as I'm 38 now.

We were at a non-denominational Bible church down in the Portland area until I was probably 16. It was a super biblical church—memorizing scripture with a heavy emphasis on discipleship. That still comes with me wherever I go, which I love about the Covenant: placing the centrality of the Word of God at the center of everything we do.

When I was 12, my parents unfortunately split up, and I moved with my mom across the street from an Assemblies of God church. It was a medium-sized church with 300 kids in the youth group—just one of these crazy anomaly youth groups. In that setting, I really leaned into who the Holy Spirit is. Obviously, it's a Pentecostal church, and that was new and exciting for me—learning how to pray, listen for the voice of the Spirit, going on prayer walks, fasting, and anticipating what God is going to do next in your life and the life of your church.

Carrying that Covenant base through a Bible church and into this Assemblies of God setting prepared me for the life of ministry I'd have beginning in college. Long story short, I've been in vocational ministry for 17 years. I've been a worship pastor, kids pastor, youth pastor, young adults pastor, and now this is my first—and hopefully last—lead pastor job. In 2050 I'll turn 63, and I hope to give this church 25 years. We'll see. Water the grass and let it go green where you water it, as they say. I'm just a follower of Jesus following the voice of the Spirit.

Erik Cave: Before we move on, I'd love for you to tell us a little about your family, too.

Elliot Otteson: That's a great question. I've been married for 12 years to the beautiful Sarah Ann. She is so wise, gracious, and generous. We have a little boy named Emmas who is four years old, a little girl named Gloria who is two, and we have one on the way, so we don't know the gender yet.

My family and kids have been super supportive. We went on this crazy adventure and lived in England for three years, and Sarah was supporting that calling in my life at such a high level the whole time. My kids have core memories over there. We're actually coming back from that reverse culture shock right now—I still say things like "proper," which I picked up over there. We're a crazy bunch, just following the Lord to the best of our ability. We prayerfully found Grace Community Covenant Church, really sensing that this is where the Lord will plant us indefinitely.

Erik Cave: So good. Tell us more about what's going on at Grace right now. What are you passionate about in this season?

Elliot Otteson: It's been a really easy first year, and that's a huge grace from the Lord and from this church. It speaks to the legacy of the pastors here and the legacy of this community. This first year, we've just done some little modifications here and there—I put up a new website and made some little edits as we lean into the 2030s—but we're seeing real fruit. I think we're about to cross 30 baptisms this year, which is something I'm passionate about. I regularly bring an invitation to the forefront in our sermons to follow Jesus with everything we have, and believing and being baptized is definitely a part of that. So that's really exciting.

We're also in the process of hiring a new worship pastor. But really, the big thing I'm trying to do is just listen a lot and ask, "Who is Grace Community Covenant Church? Who are the people that have made this place what it is?" That has been a delight. I'm sitting with people who have been here since the 1970s and thinking, "Wow, you have faithfully loved this community and continued to contribute your resources and talents." It's amazing; it's almost like a little snapshot of heaven. Part of coming in is really getting to know the place, listening for stories, and listening for the heart God has placed on this church so I can help steward that.

Erik Cave: Thanks for sharing that. How can we pray for you in this season?

Elliot Otteson: Just as I'm finishing up the rookie year, my big burden is for the lost in this community. I'm figuring out how to pastor Grace Community Covenant Church to continue sending its ministry across the street. We're preaching through what I'm calling "the year of the gospel"—how the news about Jesus drives us into God's mission for the church.

My burden right now is evangelism, and figuring out how to pastor a well-established community to see opportunities to share the news about Jesus in a way that makes sense to this culture, while being totally consistent with the biblical witness. Evangelism is big, alongside leaning into the continuing work of the Spirit that's already happening here, and helping foster that in a fruitful way in the years to come.

Erik Cave: Excellent. I'll definitely be praying for you.

Elliot Otteson: Thank you so much, Erik.

Erik Cave: I think we have time for one more quick question. All right, so, what is one thing you cannot resist?

Elliot Otteson: One thing I cannot resist. This was the question...

Erik Cave: The one thing you said not to ask you! I'm just kidding, I'll switch it. That was just a tease. What are three traits that define you? What are your top three traits?

Elliot Otteson: I can't resist Sarah Otteson—she's so beautiful and lovely. As for three traits about me: Number one, I'm definitely a child of God. I see myself as a kid, and that's just how I've related to God since I was little.

Number two, I'm a friend. Even before being a pastor, that's how I naturally interact with people.

And number three, I'm an encourager. That's my default. It's both a strength and a weakness because I'm always trying to see the opportunity in a puzzle or a hard time. Friendly encouragement is a gift God's given me that comes from the personal witness of a child of God. I think I'll be a kid until I'm with Him one day.

Erik Cave: Those are good traits. Thanks for sharing that, and thanks for taking the time to do this interview and share your life with us today.

Elliot Otteson: Thank you so much. It's so good connecting with all of you watching. I've been to a few different network events, and it's cool to finally have second and third-time meetings with people. Y'all are great. Thanks for wrapping your arms around us and welcoming us to this awesome fellowship.