a brief bio of pastor crain

Chris Crain was born and bred in Greenville, SC. He grew up going to church but did not seriously practice his faith until a freshman at Clemson University. His senior year at Clemson he became interested in Reformed theology and started attending Reformed University Fellowship (R.U.F.).

It was through the ministry of R.U.F. that Chris grew to love the Bible more and more and became interested in learning it in more depth. After graduating with a B.S. in Textile Chemistry from Clemson, he served as a short-term missionary in Ukraine and Russia. This eye-opening experience confirmed his desire to study the Bible further and his calling as a teacher of God’s Word.

During his senior year, he met Nancy Wilde in a Shakespeare class. Apparently it was “to be” as they began dating and got married after Nancy graduated in 1994.

While at Covenant Theological Seminary (CTS) in Saint Louis, Chris became involved in an inner-city church, eventually serving as a ruling elder at Olive Branch Presbyterian. This experience challenged Chris in many ways and has been one of the defining times of his life.

After he graduated from CTS in 1998, Chris was interested in learning more about God’s work in history. So, he entered the Historical Theology program at Saint Louis University, graduating in 2003 with a Ph.D. His dissertation explored the relationship between John Williamson Nevin’s theology and his aesthetic theory.

Before serving at Covenant Presbyterian Church and Covenant Classical Christian School, Chris was the Dean of Dialectic and Rhetoric at Providence Christian Academy in Saint Louis. There he administered the Upper School (7-12) and taught Humanities and Rhetoric.

As well as reading different kinds of literature (e.g., theology, history, poetry, fantasy, and mystery), Chris also enjoys running and has completed the Saint Louis Marathon and the Boston Marathon. Chris has been happily married to Nancy since 1994 and they have three children Miriam, Eden, and Malachi.

Chris is excited and blessed to serve as assistant pastor at Covenant Presbyterian Church with the primary duties of being headmaster at Covenant Classical Christian School, a ministry of the church.