On July 2, La Crescenta Presbyterian Church (LCPC) welcomed its new senior pastor and head of staff Reverend Dr. Mouris A. Yousef to his first worship service. Dr. Yousef brings almost 30 years of full-time ministry work to his new role.

Dr. Yousef has traveled an interesting path to get to LCPC, which actually began several generations ago in Egypt when his great-grandfather converted to the Reformed faith after meeting with several Presbyterian missionaries from the United States. As a result, he grew up attending a Presbyterian church in central Egypt with his family.

Dr. Yousef said being a follower of Jesus in a largely Islamic country like Egypt was never easy but he felt called to enter full-time ministry, graduating from Evangelical Seminary in Cairo in 1993 with a Master of Divinity. In 1994 he was ordained as a Minister of Word and Sacrament by the Synod of the Nile where he served for seven years as pastor and head of staff at a 900-member Presbyterian congregation in central Egypt. In 2002, he immigrated to the United States, completed advanced degree programs and thrived with multiple churches in New Jersey. His service, including church planting in Kuwait, caught the eye of LCPC’s nine-member Pastor Nominating Committee, whose members had been searching for a new pastor. Dr. Yousef takes over LCPC leadership from Rev. Dr. Mike Harbert, who has provided interim pastor assistance and guidance for the last 14 months when long-time Pastor Andy Wilson retired from LCPC after 22 extraordinary years of service.

Dr. Yousef has been married for 22 years to his wife Margaret, a mechanical engineer, and they have two young adult children in college.

Dr. Yousef summed up this exciting time by saying, “We are looking forward to the next chapter in our ministry … and cannot wait to explore together what the Lord might have in store for all of us.”

Dr. Yousef hopes to bring excitement and energy to LCPC by emphasizing what he calls his “Four Pillars of Ministry.” If that piques your curiosity, we’d love to have you join us at either of our two Sunday services held at 10 a.m. – contemporary worship in the main sanctuary and traditional worship in the newly renovated chapel.

La Crescenta Presbyterian Church is located at 2902 Montrose Ave. in La Crescenta/Glendale 91214; feel free to call (818) 249-6137 with any questions.