Mic Thurber is the new ministerial director of the Mid-America Union. He will begin his work March 1 after transitioning from the Keene Church on the campus of Southwestern Adventist University in Texas, where he has been the senior pastor since 2002.
“We are happy to welcome Elder Mic Thurber to our leadership team,” said Thomas L. Lemon, Mid-America Union president. “We believe that with Mic’s many years of service—both as a pastor and as a ministerial director—he is uniquely positioned to encourage, inspire and support pastoral ministry in our territory.”
One task of a union ministerial director is to ensure that local conference ministerial directors are supported and resourced, as they in turn work with local pastors to encourage lifelong growth and leadership development. Elder Thurber has served as ministerial director in the Southeastern California Conference and also as senior pastor of the Pacific Union College Church, Calimesa Adventist Church near Loma Linda, and San Diego Central Church (now Tierrasanta). No stranger to Mid-America, Thurber taught Bible and music at Sunnydale Academy in Missouri before serving at his alma mater, Mt. Pisgah Academy, in North Carolina.
In addition to preaching Jesus and His marvelous grace, Pastor Mic’s passions are encouraging and supporting other pastors, photography, writing software, reading, and his family. Jana, his wife and best friend of 37 years, worked with Mic on staff as an associate pastor at the Keene Church. Prior to moving to Keene, she was a trust officer for Pacific Union College, and before that the paralegal/office manager at the Office of Legal Counsel at Loma Linda University.
Mic and Jana have three grown children: Gina, of Denver; Darrin, of Athens, OH; and Kaylin, a student at Southwestern Adventist University. Their first grandchild, Aryia, is the gift of Darrin and his wife, Cristine.
