Pastor Ed Backell is a Washington state native, and has taught for 25 years as a youth minister in churches in Oregon, Washington and Nebraska, most recently in Snohomish, WA. He has traveled extensively throughout the United States and Canada with various musical groups. As a youth minister, he specialized in creating teen performance groups that helped students use their gifts and talents to explore and share their own faith. He holds an M. Div. from Bethel Seminary in St Paul, MN, as well as an M. A. in Ministry.

He was ordained to the senior pastorate by Warden Community Church in May, 2010. He is married to Jami (originally from Ephrata, WA), his bride of over 20 years, and they have three daughters. Betty is sixteen, Rachel is fourteen, and Jandica is eleven. Ed is a creative person, avid musician, published author, voracious reader, computer geek, and a pretty darn good ethnic cook!

Warden Congregational Church truly is congregational; the church is led by the people, and the people together make the decisions that affect our lives together as God's people. The "governing" body of our church is called the Cabinet, and it's made of representatives from the various groups which oversee different areas of activity.

The group of people who direct the spiritual needs of the church is called the Diaconate. The Trustees direct the financial needs of our congregation. The Christian Education board organize Sunday school materials, teachers, Praise sing time, religious education programs and Fun and Fellowship events.

Kid Connection is our children's program at Warden Community Church! Every Sunday morning at 9:30, Kid Connection begins with kid-friendly worship time and a Bible story presentation for the whole group. Then kids gather in small groups (Preschool-1st grade; 2nd-5th grade) to dive deeper into the lesson in ways that engage their minds and hearts.

~ Family ~ Kids should LOVE to come to church! Kid Connection inserts fun without distorting the message to create a learning atmosphere kids can’t resist!

Our dream for Kid Connection:

• To nurture and encourage each child to know, love, and serve God.
• To nurture the faith of children and leaders within a caring community.
• To teach children the story of Scripture, from Genesis to Revelation.
• To help children understand truth in the Bible.
• To challenge children and leaders to live their faith.
• To equip children to share their faith and serve others in the community.
• To partner with families in their children's growth in faith.
• To encourage children to make the church’s teachings their own.
• To help children value the rich diversity of people in God’s kingdom.

S.T.A.T.I.C.

Our teens participate in an area youth group called S.T.A.T.I.C. (Serving Together As Teens In Christ). Every Sunday night, we offer STATIC members one of two choices: one week, we'll all meet for singing, games, Bible study, activities (and munchies, of course!). The "big group" meeting happens at 6:00pm, and STATIC teens come from every Christian Church in Warden, as well as out of town and un-churched youth. The worship and Bible studies are not denominational... but they are relational! Some of the Bible study subjects we have learned about are: loving the unlovable; reaching out in unselfish friendship; God knows our hearts; God has amazing power; God's glory is beyond our comprehension; and lots of others.

The other Sundays are more focused on Bible Study. We have a Junior High Bible study at 4:00pm, and a Senior High Bible Study at 6:00pm. We're always prepared to have both a girls only and a guys only class, but there are times when we combine the two... it all depends on the material (and who shows up, of course).

Some of the activities we've had are a mystery menu dinner, planning and running a Harvest Party, attending concerts with other youth groups, and we've hosted movie nights on the back yard of the church.