Donald Ross

Donald Ross is the lead pastor of the Creekside Church in Seattle, where he has served since 1995. This 60-year old church once, 2000 in attendance, declined over fifteen years to painful 150. Don first served as a consultant to the church, and then became pastor.

Over the next ten years many of the issues the caused the decline were addressed and in 2004 the four acre, 80,000 square foot campus in Seattle was sold and Creekside Church relocated north seven miles to a ten acre parcel in Mountlake Terrace, where a newly remodeled campus now serves as home.

The Creekside Church has 1200 people, who call it their church home, with 500 attending on any given Sunday. Don traveled full time as a church consultant, working with churches from 35 to 5000 in size before coming to Creekside Church.

Don is part of the Northwest Ministry Network and holds a B.A. in Biblical Literature from Northwest University. He graduated in 1997 with a Doctor of Ministry degree from Bakke Graduate School in Seattle formerly (Northwest School of the Ministry). His dissertation, “Re-Engineering the Large Declining Church” focused on leading turnaround churches, using his own church as a case study.

In 2011 he founded the Turnaround Church Coaching Network which helps pastors of plateaued or declining church move forward and in 2013 publish his book, Turnaround Pastor.

Don and his wife Brenda, live in Kenmore, where Brenda works at Northwest University. They have three married children, Kelly, Kathy and Tom, and seven grandchildren.