Meet the suddenly most quotable minister in Minnesota

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RICHFIELD, MINN. — Nebraska. Tennessee. Minnesota.

I keep running into Ethan Bilbrey … and I keep quoting him in The Christian Chronicle.

The funny thing is, I had never met him — or even heard of him — until three months ago.

Scott Laird, a longtime Montana minister who serves on the Chronicle’s national board of trustees, introduced me to Ethan at the Equip Conference, hosted by York University in Nebraska in March.

Ethan did a two-year apprenticeship with Scott and the Great Falls Church of Christ before moving to the Minneapolis area, where he has preached for the Richfield Church of Christ since 2016.

The theme of the York event was “Hope for Churches,” so I interviewed Ethan about the congregation he serves.

“We’re like a lot of Churches of Christ,” he said in my Equip Conference story, “who have had better years in the past, who’ve experienced decline over the decades and want to see new life and hope and the Gospel continuing to spread and new disciples being made.”

(Ethan also told me that he enjoys the Chronicle’s podcast, and I couldn’t resist shooting a quick video of him saying that and sharing it with host B.T. Irwin.)

About a month later, I saw Ethan again — this time in Memphis, Tenn.

As Harding School of Theology prepares to relocate to the university’s main campus in Searcy, Ark., students, alumni, faculty and staff came together to celebrate the seminary’s past — and pray for its future.

Ethan, a 2018 HST graduate, traveled to Tennessee for the reunion.

When I talked to him, he called the move to Searcy “disappointing.”

“Like a lot of alumni, we understand why it’s happening, but we also believe the process was done very poorly,” he said in the story I wrote.

I mentioned to Ethan that I planned to visit the Minneapolis Central Church of Christ to report on its growing food ministry. I asked if he had any ideas for other stories in the area.

He told me about Richard Inyang, a native Nigerian preacher who serves a predominantly African immigrant congregation in Roseville, a suburb that borders both Minneapolis and St. Paul.

Ethan explained that Inyang had suffered severe burns in a grease fire and that Churches of Christ in the Twin Cities area had rallied around him and his family.

That sounded like an amazing story (and it was).

Again, I quoted Ethan.

“What a blessing to see our congregation and other Churches of Christ in Minnesota praying for Richard and his family, bringing meals and making significant financial contributions to help offset medical costs,” Ethan said in my story, published today.

Ethan and his wife, Skylar, both grew up in the Monterey Church of Christ in Tennessee. Both earned bachelor’s degrees from Freed-Hardeman University in Henderson, Tenn., Ethan majoring in biblical studies and Skylar in elementary education. 

Beyond his FHU and HST degrees, Ethan is pursuing a doctorate in ministry through Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in Hamilton, Mass.

Ethan is a friendly, soft-spoken minister who impresses me as anything but a self-promoter. Perhaps that’s why I find him so quotable.

He invited me to join him and his family for lunch while in Minnesota. We met at Pizza Luce, a Richfield eatery not far from the airport.

That handmade gourmet pizza is special to the Bilbreys because it’s what the couple ate after the birth of their oldest child, Sage, who is 6 years old. Their other two children are equally delightful: 3-year-old Judah and infant Cedar. 

I asked Sage about her school, and she spoke highly of her teacher. I’m glad she said kind things because it turns out that Skylar homeschools her.

I may have mentioned — once or twice or a million times — that I’m a big fan of the World Series champion Texas Rangers.

I made my first visit to Target Field, home of the Minnesota Twins, during my reporting trip. Conveniently, the Twins were playing my Rangers.

Ethan is not a sports nut like me, but he joined me at the game. We parked at the Mall of America in Bloomington and took the light rail to Target Field.

Patrick Doherty and Steve Countryman — who serve on the ministry staff of the Woodbury Church of Christ, east of Minneapolis — met us at the ballpark, along with Patrick’s son Liam. 

We all had a terrific time, although they might have enjoyed it just a little more since their team won!

For the record, I’ll probably wait a month or two — or perhaps longer — before I quote Ethan again.

“I will try to give you a ‘No comment’ the next time we meet,” he joked.

Seriously, I thank God for putting Ethan and his family in my path. They are wonderful, and I am blessed to get to know them.

BOBBY ROSS JR. is Editor-in-Chief of The Christian Chronicle. Reach him at [email protected].

Filed under: baseball Ethan Bilbrey Harding School of Theology Inside Story Minneapolis Central Church of Christ Minnesota Minnesota Twins National Opinion Richfield Church of Christ Texas Rangers Top Stories York University