Rev. Dr. Nelson Ould is a pastor, educator, and ministry leader with broad experience in church leadership and pastoral care. He served as Executive Pastor of Third Church in Richmond, Virginia, and later as the founding Lead Pastor of Community West Church. He also served as adjunct professor of pastoral ministry at Union Presbyterian Seminary and has led continuing education courses in pastoral visitation at Princeton Theological Seminary.

He earned his M.Div. from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and his Ph.D. in Pastoral Theology from the University of Edinburgh, where his research focused on pastoral theological responses to chronic shame.

Nelson’s ministry has been deeply shaped by personal experiences of suffering and loss through the death of his first wife, Lacy, to cancer at age thirty-one. He is now married to Lisa, who is the founding Director of the Barnabas Center, a counseling and training center. Together, they are also grateful parents to their adopted daughter, Galyna. Following his retirement from Community West Church in 2026, Dr. Ould now focuses on mentoring and encouraging church leaders and continuing to serve the local church.