Ryan Nelson
Teacher & Pastor
Ryan is a passionate person, caring deeply about many things including his family and baseball, but most of all he is passionate about the Word of God. His love for scripture is evident in his preaching. He is married to Chloe Nelson, and they have one precious child, Junior Nelson. They have two dogs whom they love dearly. His mother is Cinda Nelson, and his father is Melvin Nelson, and they both are active members. Lacy Nelson, his sister, and Wes Nelson, his brother-in-law, also attend along with their four children: Luke, Tucker, Bryce, and Kyler.
Ryan has a diverse background, much like a renaissance man. He was born in Kansas and raised most of his life in Shawnee, Oklahoma. After graduating high school, unsure of what direction to take next, he joined the United States Army. Shortly after enlisting the United States was attacked on September 11 by terrorists. He was quickly deployed to defend our nation. After some years of serving he returned home to attend his collegiate studies at Oklahoma State University and later graduated with a degree in Theater and Performance. During his years at OSU, he began his marketing business which quickly took off. He shortly became very successful, making more than even some of his professors, and realized his business potential. Once he completed his collegiate studies, he moved to Houston, Texas, to move forward with even greater business opportunities.
After living in Houston for some years he returned to live near his parents and sister who had all moved to Enid, Oklahoma. God had moved in his heart over the previous year and caused his soul to awake to his true destiny of knowing God through His Word and then living for Him. Through God’s providence, Ryan met Pastor Wade Burleson when Ryan attended church with his family. Wade helped Ryan to realize the true meaning of God’s divine GRACE. In learning the truth, Ryan’s heart was greatly freed and he became ever more passionate about Jesus. During this same time, Ryan met his wife, Chloe, at an Emmanuel Enid small group.
After a few years of being married God called Ryan to youth ministry at Garland Road Baptist Church. While serving as the youth pastor, he was ordained into the ministry by Wade Burleson, Greg Hook, Matt Spann, Billy Benson, John Parsons, Zach Moneypenny, Ken Sumpter, and Bert Clampitt, along with another ordained minister. During his time of serving at Garland Road, Ryan and Chloe also were blessed with their son whom they were able to adopt some years later. Following Ryan’s time of service at Garland Road, he moved to Emmanuel Enid as the Student Pastor. Through God’s providence, Ryan later became the current pastor of House of Grace Church.
Ryan’s desire is for House of Grace members to thoroughly understand and know how to study the Word of God. Through the message of God’s amazing grace and the power of God’s truth, Ryan’s mission is for the church to work in unity towards one common goal of love for the building up of one another. Through the beauty of the common grace that we find in the local church, God’s children are empowered to live a more fruitful and joyful walk with Christ and with one another.