Our Leadership
Shepherded by Christ, led by elders, send on mission in ChuluotaWho Leads Christ’s Community?
Christ is the Head of the Church. He cares for His people through pastors and elders who lead, teach, and shepherd (Acts 20:28; 1 Peter 5:1–4). Christ’s Community Church is led by Mission Developer and Planting Pastor Mark Nelsen in partnership with a Provisional Session of elders from other Presbyterian churches. As a growing mission church, we are joyfully under their oversight until the Lord raises and ordains local elders here in Chuluota. Together, Pastor Mark and the Provisional Session provide shepherding care, accountability, and wise counsel as we mature toward becoming a fully particularized congregation.
Mission Developer/Pastor — Mark Nelsen
After attending the Air Force Academy and then graduating from the University of Florida, Mark Nelsen worked as a cowboy on different ranches in Nevada, Wyoming, California, and Florida. At the Blue Head Ranch in Lake Placid, FL, Mark met Charlotte, who worked as a CPA before Mark stole her from the corporate world. They currently have four children: Hannah, Chloe, and David, Jonathan.
In Lake Placid, God also began to work in Mark’s heart and lead him into pastoral ministry. Through teaching Bible studies and leading small groups, Mark realized that many men grew up in church but didn’t know what the Bible really said about God and how they are to respond. They had not been discipled, and Mark felt like he could do something about discipling and teaching men. These reasons propelled Mark to pursue pastoral ministry and start seminary classes at RTS.
Mark and his family moved to Orlando in 2022 to complete his MDiv at RTS, where he graduated in May 2023. Church planting was not Mark’s original plan, but the seed was planted and it has become something he has loved. After buying a house and moving out to Chuluota in the fall of 2023, Christ’s Community Church was launched in November 2023 with 21 adults and 10 kids in the Nelsens’ house. The church has since outgrown the Nelsens’ home and another family’s home. Christ’s Community Church met in a pole barn to worship our Creator each Sunday morning until moving to Walker Elementary in October 2025.
Our Provisional Session
Because we are a mission church, the ARP presbytery has appointed a Provisional Session—ordained elders who provide shepherding and oversight while we develop local elders. This protects the flock with accountability and counsel, and it helps us train men who will serve on our future Session here in Chuluota.
The Provisional Session prays for the congregation, supports the pastor, assists with member care, and guides us toward becoming a fully organized church under Christ.
