Meet Chad Murrell | Pastor and Community Leader

We had the good fortune of connecting with Chad Murrell and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Chad, is your business focused on helping the community? If so, how?
Vista Church is a gathering of people that, because of Jesus and His teachings, values loving people deeply, sharing the Gospel boldly, and impacting our community with the hope of Jesus. We believe that if we are going to value these ideas we have to intentionally be connected and involved in our local community loving them the way Jesus loves. In order to do this, we have multiple partnerships with our local city municipality, low income and homeless assistance organizations, refugee ministries, a local women’s shelter, pregnancy care, school mentoring programs, and more. As one example, we are partnered with the city of Scottsdale’s “Fix It” program, which is a program by which the city identifies homes that are out of city code and contacts us to bring teams in to do the repairs necessary to get the home back into city compliance. Most of these homeowners are elderly and/or low income and are not capable of doing the maintenance and repairs themselves. So, without this assistance they would begin receiving fines from the city. We love impacting the lives of others by meeting needs and loving them in the name of Jesus.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Personally, I am most proud of what God has done with my life. I didn’t come from a family that had money or means. No one in my family had anything past a certification in a field. I had a family member that severely abused me as a child. Based on these factors, I could have been just another statistic, but my life went a different direction. With God’s help, I rose above my past, got an education all the way to achieving my doctorate (the first in my family to do so), and dedicated my life to serving Jesus and serving others. It has been an uphill battle: sticking to my beliefs and values, while at the same time taking a different path than many with those same beliefs. I’ve learned that it is possible to be conservative in my beliefs and at the same time fight against injustice and fight for others who may struggle to defend themselves.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
The Valley has so much to offer, and we sometimes miss that. If I had a friend in town, I would take them to eat at Naked Q BBQ, Blanco Taco, Happy’s Hamburgers, Joy Ride Tacos, Taco Guild, and Rehab Burger Therapy. We would likely visit the Phoenix Art Museum, The Musical Instruments Museum (MIM), The AZ Science Center, a Diamondbacks Baseball Game, Puttshack in Kierland, make pottery at PIP Coffee and Pottery, or make custom planters at Jade and Clover. We would have to check out the beauty of the dessert by going on a hike.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
There are too many to list. I could shout out Reese Miller at the city of Scottsdale for his work with the “Fix It” program. Or Jackie Parks and her work through South Scottsdale Presbyterian Church to assist the homeless in the city of Scottsdale. Or Amy Seiser with Bridge to Hope and her work to help women who are homeless and/or running from domestic violence to help them find a place to live, care for their children, get job training, and more.

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