Doug Murrell
Doug joined staff of New Life Providence Chruch in 2005, as Executive Pastor. “My family and I are excited about this new chapter in God,” he says. “I truly appreciate the love and kindness you have shown each and every one of us.”
In 1995, the Murrells joined the New Life Fellowship of Churches while still under the name Greenbrier Christian Fellowship at the Volvo Parkway location. While at New Life, Doug served as a PrimeTime instructor and his wife, Felicia, served as a Power Kids teacher. In 1999, when New Life Providence was multiplied from the Greenbrier congregation, Doug served as a volunteer administrative assistant, coordinating and overseeing Sunday morning services at the Indian River site. He and Felicia served as 5th and 6th grade Sunday school teachers at both Greenbrier and Providence. They also served as cell leaders while at Providence.
Doug has a passion for equipping pastors and church leaders with the knowledge and skill to develop a more effective and efficient church. “As the body of Christ,” he says, “the Church has struggled with its function as a ministry and its form as an organization. As it relates to structure, we raise the age-old question: Is this a ministry or a business? As a church, we stand as a group of believers in covenant relationship with Christ and with each other, spreading His love; and as a church, we stand as an institution in communal relationship with other political, social, economical, educational, and cultural entities, spreading His dominion. The beauty is in the balance. To choose one or the other confines or limits God’s influence in the earth. We often say we are 'out of the box' or ‘'on the cutting edge,' but in doing so, we still define ourselves in relation to the boundaries of the box or the edge, which represent our preconceived notions about what church ought to be.”
In 1992, while studying organizational development at Vanderbilt University (BS ’95), Doug recognized the need for leadership development, strategic planning, and business infrastructure in the local church. God gave him the vision of Wise Counsel Ministries as a conduit to accomplish this calling. His heart is, “to provide the very stones that enable the church to conquer the giants of disunity, discontinuity, and disorganization.”
In 2001, after 14 years of military service as both a commissioned and non-commissioned officer in the U.S. Navy, Doug finally answered the call to full-time ministry and returned to his native city, Nashville, to serve as Business Administrator and Director of Ministry Operations for Born Again Church and Christian Outreach Ministries. In January 2003, he was licensed and ordained as an elder of Born Again Church. His primary responsibility was to provide leadership and oversight to the following areas: finance, facilities, project management, organizational development, strategic planning, leadership training, community relations, human resources, staff development, volunteer ministries, information technology, and business operations. He also served as the administrator of Born Again Christian Academy, where he was affectionately nicknamed “The President” by the kindergarten class.
Also active in the community, Doug served as a member of the Nashville Chamber of Commerce, Girls Scouts Strategic Planning Steering Committee, and Metro Davidson County Schools Strategic Planning Steering Committee to name a few. Felicia served as the PTA president for Harpeth Valley Elementary School, one of the top academic schools in the city.
Recently he completed the Leadership Hampton Roads Class of 2007, where he received the 'Encourage Your Heart' award, 1 of 5 peer-selected leadership awards for the class. He chaired the class project, 'Asleep in the Park' an all-night event in a downtown Norfolk park with the Mayor to benefit homelessness, specifically two permanent supportive housing facilities in the region. He serves on the Junior Achievement board of directors, specifically on the strategic planning committee and was selected to be the campus pastor at his church's new site in Norfolk. With a multi-site structure, he will act as the host or 'face with the place' as well as continue the XP role.
Doug resides in Virginia Beach with his wife, Felicia, and their four children, Brittany (15), Tre’ (12), Chaya (10), and Jeremiah (8).
