Chris Woolard serves as the Lead Pastor of Venture Church in Wilmington, North Carolina. He and his wife, Lindsey, moved to Wilmington in 2012 as church planters to start Venture Church.

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As Venture’s primary teacher, Chris is committed to presenting deep spiritual truths in ways that are clear, relatable, and engaging.

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Chris has served in ministry across North Carolina and Virginia for nearly 25 years. He holds degrees from Mid-Atlantic Christian University and Johnson University, and he previously served for 10 years as the Executive Director of the Carolina Christian Youth Conference. Today, he continues to invest in the next generation as the Program Director for the CCYC Young Leaders program. He also serves on the boards of Campus Christian Fellowship, Church Planters of ENC, and the YMCA of Southeastern North Carolina Association Board. Since 2002, Chris has served as a Dean for Middle School and High School camp weeks at Roanoke Christian Camp.

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All of this flows from Chris’ passion to empower families, fight injustice, raise up leaders, and serve the broken in Jesus’ name.

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Chris considers his greatest calling to be husband to Lindsey and father to Silas and Savannah. Through them, he’s daily reminded of what matters most: staying centered on Jesus through it all.

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Outside of ministry, Chris enjoys time with his family and being outdoors. He loves playing guitar, camping, building, working with his hands, following NFL football (Go Cowboys!), and reading—especially history, sci-fi, and fantasy.