Pastor John Mutchler of the Chehalis Seventh-day Adventist Church, conducts worship (Bible class) on March 23 for sixth-to-eighth graders at Lewis County Adventist School in Chehalis.
Almost as far back as he could remember, people always told John Mutchler he would someday be a pastor.
In a way, he believed it. In a way, he fought it. But he is still in awe of being able to serve as the senior pastor of the Chehalis Seventh-Day Adventist Church.
“I wish that my parents could be here to see this,” Mutchler said.
The newest Senior Pastor of Chehalis SDA, Mutchler was born in Ohio and raised in an Adventist household. His father was an SDA pastor for more than 20 years. As an adult, Mutchler served on the police force in a community outside Dallas, Texas for 13 years sworn, 16 non-sworn. His father eventually followed in his footsteps and joined the police force.
“But he still gave Bible studies on the street,” Mutchler recalled.
Mutchler said as an officer, he was known as “Officer Friendly” for his ability to be present with people and listen to them. His co-workers on the force told him they thought he’d make a good pastor but he was still skeptical. Mutchler’s father died in 2008 and his mother died in 2010. Just before his mother’s passing, she sat him down and told him what she hoped for his life.
“She said ‘I’ve never pushed you in this area but I really believe God is calling you,’” Mutchler recalled.
Mutchler decided to follow that call, what he said had been a small voice inside him for a long time, but at the beginning of the journey he thought he’d end up working as a hospice chaplain. He and his wife, Veronica, and daughters Brittany, 19, and Sofia, 13, moved to Washington from Texas eight years ago. Mutchler said they were uncertain what the relocation would mean for their family but they quickly fell in love with the area.
“Washington is one of the most beautiful states,” Mutchler said.
He was called to Chehalis Seventh-Day Adventist Church, first as a Bible worker then about four years ago he was called to serve as youth pastor. Becoming the pastor of a church was not something Mutchler originally considered because he hates public speaking. In February, he was asked to fill the senior pastor position and he said even then he struggled to listen to whether the calling was authentic.
“When I got my Master’s Degree (from Liberty University) they interviewed me to be a pastor and they said ‘why do you want to be a pastor?’ And I said “I don’t,’” Mutchler recalled with a smile. “Who goes to an interview and says they don’t want a job? But I wanted God to open that door, and He did.”
Mutchler will be considered officially ordained by the SDA church after five years of service. He said pastoring a church and being a police officer share many similarities, including unpredictable schedules and long hours. And Officer Friendly with the listening ear is still on duty with Pastor Mutchler.
“The Bible says ‘be swift to hear and slow to speak,’” he said. “So much of my job is listening to people.”
