After growing up in the Chicago suburbs, Ryan attended Vanderbilt University where he met his wife, Amanda. They moved to Chicago when Ryan began studying at McCormick Theological Seminary.
Halfway through seminary, Ryan felt the Spirit calling him into community-based social justice ministry. Ryan graduated with a Master of Theological Studies and spent several years working in community organizing and public policy at two faith-based non-profits—Community Renewal Society and Interfaith Worker Justice. Ryan worked on a wide range of justice issues at the city, county, state, and federal levels, including violence prevention, education funding reform, wage theft, restorative justice, tax policy, re-entry and recidivism, and police reform.
In addition to Ryan’s community organizing experience, he also served five PC(USA) congregations—most recently as Associate Pastor for Faith Formation at the First Presbyterian Church of Libertyville in Illinois. Ryan loves every aspect of congregational ministry, but what he loves the most is the people. “The call of a pastor—to walk alongside people of all ages and backgrounds in their spiritual journeys—is a blessing that defies description.”
Ryan also has a strong entrepreneurial streak. He has been involved in three church plants in Chicago (including one that raised money by brewing beer), and over the past two years, has been working to foster connections between churches and social entrepreneurs. He’s served on the launch team for the Small Business Growth Initiative at the Lake County Community Foundation and is also the co-founder of The Spiritual Entrepreneurship Lab, an ecumenical project that aims to align the mission and resources of churches and social entrepreneurs to create new and innovative ways of doing church and business.
Ryan has served in other leadership roles to support the Church, including a term on the Mission Committee of the Chicago Presbytery during its relaunch, redesigning a model to distribute more than $250,000 each year in grants. Ryan has served on the Board of Directors for the Inclusive Collective, a progressive Christian campus ministry with a focus on serving LGBTQ young adults in Chicago. He is also a fellow at the Ecumenical Center for Clergy Spiritual Renewal at Holy Wisdom Monastery.
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