Our Church Leadership

Dr. Jay Newland is a gospel-centered, relational leader with more than 26 years of pastoral ministry experience. An ordained Assemblies of God minister since 2007, he is passionate about helping churches reach people far from God, develop healthy spiritual leaders, and cultivate environments where discipleship, multiplication, prayer, and missions thrive.

Jay earned his Doctor of Education in Organizational Leadership with a Christian Ministry emphasis from Grand Canyon University. His dissertation, Learning & Leading: A Qualitative Case Study of New Pentecostal Lead Pastors, was successfully defended in 2025 and is published through ProQuest and Google Scholar. He also holds a Master of Arts in Christian Ministry from Assemblies of God Theological Seminary (Magna Cum Laude) and a bachelor's degree in Religious Studies from Missouri State University (Cum Laude).

Since 2020, Jay has served as Campus Pastor at Riverside Community Church's Oakmont Campus near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. During his tenure, the campus has experienced significant growth, including a 350% increase in Sunday attendance, the launch of a third weekend service, expansion of small groups into homes, and the development of a comprehensive discipleship pathway. He has also led numerous small groups, retreats, leadership initiatives, and prayer ministries while celebrating dozens of water baptisms each year.

Previously, Jay served as Executive Pastor at Southridge Church in Omaha, Nebraska, where he provided leadership in staff development, finance, missions, and church-wide discipleship. Before that, he planted and led New Creation Church, serving the Southwest Omaha community for 11 years before leading the church through a successful merger with Southridge Church. His ministry experience also includes serving as a youth pastor, seminary instructor, district presbyter, hospital chaplain, police chaplain, and missions leader. Jay’s hobbies include hunting, fishing, cheering his daughter on in volleyball and the Pittsburgh sports teams, writing, and Jeep Life.

Beyond the local church, Jay currently teaches at the PennDel School of Ministry, recently began serving as a Pennsylvania State Police Chaplain, and has written articles published by Influence Magazine. His ministry philosophy is rooted in Luke 15, believing the Church is called to intentionally pursue "the one" while trusting God to accomplish "immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine" (Ephesians 3:20).

Jay and his wife, Candace, a Licensed Independent Mental Health Practitioner, have been married for 27 years and serve together in ministry. They are the proud parents of Jackson (21) who is a Junior at Evangel (engaged to fellow Evangel student Olivia) and Haven (15). Together, they are committed to leading with integrity, prioritizing prayer and God's Word, investing deeply in family and community, and continually learning as they seek to faithfully follow God's calling.

Jay and Candace come to Celebration with grateful hearts and great expectation. They believe God has already been at work in this church, and we are excited to join what He is doing. They look forward to worshiping with you, serving alongside you, building meaningful relationships, and seeking God's direction together.

Their prayer is that Celebration will continue to be a place where people find Jesus, lives are transformed, leaders are raised up, and the love of Christ is experienced by our community and beyond. They are humbled by the opportunity to serve with Pastor Mike and the team and are excited to see all that God has in store for the days ahead.

You can reach Pastor Jay through the church office at 717-432-5662.