Our Staff

Transitional Pastor: Daryl Wilson

Daryl has spent a lifetime studying the Bible, theology, history, politics, and current events. But no subject interests or inspires him nearly as much as the living person, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus is the holy Son of God and Savior of the world, the one worthy of adoration, worship, and the whole-hearted commitment of our lives. The aim of everything Daryl believes and proclaims is to exalt Jesus and to share his wondrous love for and with all people everywhere. Next come the other details: 

Daryl was born in Mountain View, CA, the heart of what’s now called the Silicon Valley. But no one had heard of silicon in those days. Times have changed since then! Daryl committed his life to Jesus at a Billy Graham crusade at the Oakland Coliseum in 1971. The following year, when Daryl was ten, he told his parents he wanted to be a pastor so he could share the love of Jesus with many people. 

In 1984, Daryl graduated from Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, OK with a degree in Theological and Historical Studies. In 1987, he earned a Master of Divinity degree from Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, CA. After seminary, Daryl spent a year in the business world at the Toshiba America Corp

In 1988, the Presbyterian Church (USA) ordained Daryl as a Minister of Word and Sacrament so he could serve as pastor in a remote Alaska Native village on Prince of Wales Island. At his ordination, many folks who’d watched him crawl around under the pews as a kid were amazed to see the freshly minted “Reverend Wilson” standing before them in his new pulpit robe. He still wears that robe today.

After Alaska, Daryl served pastorates in the Columbia Basin and Las Cruces, NM. In Las Cruces, he met Dr. Cathy Cryder, an Idaho native and alumna of Boise State University (B.S), the University of Idaho (M.S), and New Mexico State University (PhD). After dating, they found they lived across the street from each other! Daryl proposed three weeks after their first date, and they married in July 1992.  

In 1995, Daryl became a Campus Minister at NMSU. He had a blast working with college students! The Wilson house was always filled with young people. Youngest of all was their daughter Natania, born that same year. Their son Nicholas was born in 1997. Natania, now 26, works for West Ada School District in Boise. Nick, 24, pulls double duty as a business student and pizza chef. His three-year-old son, Mattis, is Daryl and Cathy’s first and only grandchild. What a cutie (ask to see pictures!).

After five enjoyable years on campus, the Wilsons journeyed to the East Coast to serve a congregation in New Jersey. They grew a lot there. Five years later they headed for Boise, where they’d always wanted to live. Daryl served 14 joyful years as pastor of Church of the Redeemer in Weiser. He also enjoyed six years leading the pastors and congregations in greater Boise as their Presbytery Executive. 

Daryl is a confirmed bibliophile. Sadly, he suffers from a chronic shortage of shelf space. In his spare time, he roots for his hometown Giants, 49ers, and Golden State Warriors (yes, pastors do shout at the TV!). Daryl’s musical tastes favor the likes of Coltrane and Handel. The Wilsons enjoy riding bikes and horses, plus hiking, camping, and skiing. They have two sweet boy-kitties, Georgie and Rumbles, and a lovable Lab/Border Collie/Aussie Shepherd mix named Oliver (aka Ollie). Woof! The Wilsons say they’re inspired to serve alongside our Pioneer church family by the down-to-earth, Christ-centered faith of folks here, and by the warm welcome we’ve extended them. Their vision is to carry on Pastor Jean’s legacy of lifting up Jesus and building up people. Soli Deo honor et gloria!

Session and Deacons

Session is comprised of faithful women and men who attend to the business of Pioneer Presbyterian Church. They keep us connected to the Presbytery and help cultivate the spiritual unity we share within our community of Burns and Hines. “The session is responsible for governing the congregation and guiding its witness to the sovereign activity of God in the world so that the congregation is and becomes a community of faith, hope, love and witness. In seeking to help the congregation be and become this community, the session has an important role as it engages in prayerful discernment and attends to how God’s Spirit may be at work in the congregation and in the broader community. Along these lines, we recognize that ruling elders are provided ‘with particular gifts to share in discernment of God’s Spirit and governance of God’s people’ and that ‘together with teaching elders, exercise leadership, government, spiritual discernment and discipline and have responsibilities for the life a congregation as well as the whole church.’”

Our team of deacons are tasked with becoming a servant to others — the role to which Jesus calls all who are truly committed to following him: Their task is to “Foster fellowship. Show hospitality. Welcome new people. Care for the lonely. Comfort the sick. Celebrate God’s gift of life. Serve. Pray. Express compassion. That’s what deacons do. We seek to show God’s love in action. We serve and lead our congregation in sharing fellowship, hospitality and pastoral care.”  The Presbyterian Church’s Book of Order states, “The office of deacon as set forth in Scripture is one of compassion, witness, sharing in the redeeming love of Jesus Christ for the poor, the hungry, the sick, the lost, the friendless, the oppressed, those burdened by unjust policies or structures, or anyone in distress.”.

Together with our pastoral leadership, these teams serve the people of Pioneer and those around us.

-Shared from PC(USA)’s The Session and the New Form of Government Building a Community of Faith, Hope, Love and Witness and Called to be Servants