Rich Nathan

Rich Nathan (born December 1955) has been the senior Pastor of Vineyard Columbus since 1987. Nathan came to believe in Jesus at the age of 18. Prior to pastoring, he was an assistant professor of business law at The Ohio State University for five years. He has a Bachelor's degrees in history and religious studies at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. and a J.D. at Ohio State University's Moritz College of Law in Columbus, Ohio. Nathan has served on the National Board of Vineyard: A Community of Churches for more than a decade and is the Large Church Task Force Coordinator for the Vineyard. He is a popular national and international conference speaker and author of two books. Nathan has been noted as one of the strongest voices in favor of the Third Wave Movement.

Nathan has also been outspoken on the subject of faith and politics. In an interview with the Columbus Dispatch, he was quoted as saying:

We think the Gospel has political implications, but it's not partisan. And we don't think that either the Republicans or the Democrats have the sole possession of the implications of the Gospel.

Nathan has also been a major force for immigration reform, highlighting the issue in both sermons and op-eds. He advocates for a different plan than those traditionally offered for America's illegal immigrants, "a pathway to citizenship governed by a system of checks and balances."