About Me

Rex Espiritu -

Rex Espiritu, M. Div.

Rev. Rex Espiritu is a teaching elder in the Presbytery of Whitewater Valley where he has served as senior pastor of First Presbyterian Church in New Castle, Indiana and pastor at Winchester—First Presbyterian Church. As a Minister of Word and Sacrament in the Presbyterian Church (USA), he is passionate toward effecting congregational transformation for the renewal of communities through missional leadership. As a student who continually enjoys learning anew, Pastor Espiritu is excited to have taken part in the inaugural fellowship of the Wabash Pastoral Leadership Program.

Prior to his graduate studies at Princeton Theological Seminary, Rex Espiritu served as an Elder and worship leader for Sunday evening services of prayer and praise at Mount Lebanon United Presbyterian Church in Pennsylvania where he was ordained by Pittsburgh Presbytery. Rex has grown up in the Presbyterian Church (USA) as a musician, vocalist, composer, arranger and director. During and following his graduation from seminary, he was the Associate Director of Music and also did his field education and later served on the pastoral staff at Faith Church, a suburban congregation in southern New Jersey near Philadelphia.

Rev. Espiritu's faith in Christ was shaped early on during his younger years when he received Christian Education at First Presbyterian Church in Mount Vernon, New York, a multicultural congregation within a predominately African-American community. A classically trained pianist, Pastor Rex has led worship in a variety of worship settings for contemporary, traditional, and blended services. He also has experience leading large interdenominational/ecumenical gatherings of worshippers at churches, retreats and conferences nationwide.

Pastor Rex Espiritu’s varied background in pastoral ministry includes being a committed intercessor, leading mission teams abroad, administering pastoral care, serving as a leader in Stephen Ministries and as a hospital chaplain. He is also a seasoned business professional who holds a B.S. in computer science from Columbia University with supervisory and senior engineering experience in software development, network management and systems administration at Logica Carnegie Group, and General Electric for NBC News. Rex and his wife Melissa have six children. He enjoys spending time with his delightful and talented family.

Rev. Rex's areas of service in recent years have involved active participation as a member of Whitewater Valley Presbytery in various capacities including the Committee on Preparation for Ministry (CPM), an Administrative Commission (AC) of the Committee on Ministry (COM), the 218th GA Moderator's appointment to the PCUSA Youth Ministries Task Force which submitted a mission statement in its report to the 219th General Assembly, and representing the Presbytery (in the Synod of Lincoln Trails) as Teaching Elder Commissioner (TEC) assigned to the Middle East Peacemaking Issues Committee of the 220th General Assembly.

In his prayers leading up to the General Assembly in 2012, Rex Espiritu expressed: “My greatest hope, dear Lord, is that in the midst of such rapidly accelerated change, You would be all the more glorified in every service, every meeting, every deliberation, and that Your people’s conduct together would be such a great witness to the love we share in Your Spirit even in, through and beyond our differences and disagreements. May we submit to one another out of reverence for Christ Jesus and regard one another as better than ourselves. And may the Name above every name be lifted up in all we say and do to the praise of God’s glorious grace. In the peace that surpasses understanding, Amen.”

http://RexEspiritu.net