Kai Nilsen, Lead Pastor

Since 2005, Kai Nilsen has served as lead pastor at Peace after having joined the staff in 1993. Throughout his career, Nilsen’s ministry has been motivated by a core conviction that God has planted in each of us the capability to love each other, to serve those in need, to hope during dark times, and to experience a full life in the present moment.

Beyond his work at Peace, Nilsen is on the Board of Renovare—an ecumenical movement focusing in spiritual formation, and he is a leader in the local ministerial association.

In 2009, Nilsen completed his Doctor of Ministry degree through Fuller Seminary in Pasadena, California. His thesis, "Developing a Conversational Guide for Creative Life Change" brought together his desire for people to engage life more deeply with one another and to open themselves more intentionally to the working of the Spirit in their lives. Why did he choose Fuller? Nilsen says, “I appreciated the diversity of its student body, the excellence of its teachers in the D.Min program, and their commitment to connecting with today's culture and world. Pasadena was also a sunny and beautiful respite when I flew out for my winter classes.”

Nilsen graduated from Concordia College, Moorhead, Minnesota in 1985, where he met his wife Patty. He graduated from Luther Seminary in 1989 and was then called to serve Trinity Lutheran Church in Madison, Wisconsin.

The Nilsens are parents of four active children—Anders, Annika, Leif and Siri. When asked what he does when he is not at Peace, Kai answered, “I'm often sitting in the bleachers or in auditoriums for my kids’ musical and sporting events. During the time I have not devoted to work or my family, I love heading to the YMCA for an intense workout or curling up on the couch with my Kindle for a relaxing read.”

You can reach Pastor Nilsen at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. '; document.write(''); document.write(addy_text11392); document.write('<\/a>'); //-->\n This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.