A Letter from Blake and Mindy

We are so excited to be pursuing the Lord’s will alongside you as we consider the Campus and Teaching Pastor role at The Church at Nolensville. Several months ago, the Lord began drawing us toward this opportunity for a few key reasons: our love for Nashville, our love for Brentwood Baptist, and our excitement about what God is doing specifically in Nolensville.

Nashville has held a special place in our hearts since 2004, when I attended Belmont University for a season. It was also during that time that I received my call to ministry. In the years that followed, we always loved returning to Nashville, and in 2012, the Lord gave us the opportunity to call it home again when we became part of the Brentwood Baptist Church Planting Residency. Ever since that season, we have wondered whether the Lord might one day lead us back to Tennessee. Throughout this process, we have sensed His leading and have experienced a genuine peace about what He may be doing.

One of the most meaningful parts of this journey has been envisioning our family thriving in the Nolensville community. With two boys, ages 14 and 15, and a daughter, age 11, we desire to be in a place where our entire family can become deeply rooted in the life and fabric of a community. In so many ways, Nolensville feels like a natural fit for our family.

Most importantly, I am excited about the ways this role aligns with who God has created me to be and with what matters most to our family. I am energized by the season The Church at Nolensville is in—a church family desiring to go deeper in their faith and bear fruit for the Kingdom of God. I believe one of the ways the Lord has uniquely gifted me is to be a steady and consistent developer of people, helping them grow in their faith, leadership, and calling. That is one of the reasons I have so enjoyed getting to know the people from The Church at Nolensville whom I have had the privilege of spending time with throughout this journey.

As we continue discerning the Lord’s will together, we are grateful for the opportunity to walk through this process with you. We are genuinely excited about what God is doing in Nolensville and hopeful about what He may have in store for The Church at Nolensville, this community, and our family.

Nolensville Campus and Teaching Pastor Candidate
Blake and Mindy Finuf

Get to know Blake Finuf

Biography

Blake Finuf currently serves as the Connections Director and a member of the teaching team at Grace Church in Overland Park, Kansas. He leads all discipleship and outreach ministries for the largest campus of this multisite church, overseeing a volunteer base of more than 200, and has served on the campus teaching team since 2020. He also leads the campus leadership team, serves as the primary mentor for Grace’s church planting residency, and is the main counselor for his campus, shepherding people through seasons of crisis.

Previously, Blake was the founding Lead Pastor of Vertical Church in Merriam, Kansas. He planted the church in 2013 and led it through every stage of development, growing the congregation from 12 committed adults to more than 100. He served as the church’s main communicator for vision and teaching, built training and recruitment systems that equipped members to succeed in their serving roles, and managed all programming, marketing, and administrative operations.

Prior to that, Blake served as a Church Planting Leadership Resident at Brentwood Baptist Church from 2012 to 2013, following five years as a Student Pastor beginning in 2007. He holds a Master of Divinity in Pastoral Leadership from Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary and a Bachelor of Arts in Religious Studies from MidAmerica Nazarene University.

Blake and his wife, Mindy, have been married for twenty years and have three children: a daughter, Piper, and two sons, Levi and Liam.

Education and Experience

Experience

Connections Director & Teaching Team | Grace Church, Overland Park, KS | 2019–Present

Lead Pastor/Planter | Vertical Church, Merriam, KS | 2013–2017 (now New City Church KCK)

Church Planting Leadership Resident | Brentwood Baptist Church, Brentwood, TN | 2012–2013

Student Pastor | 2007–2012

Education

Master of Divinity, Pastoral Leadership | Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary | Graduated 2011

Bachelor of Arts, Religious Studies | Mid America Nazarene University | Graduated 2007

From the Nolensville Campus Pastor Search Team

Over the last several months, our team has been prayerfully seeking the man God would call to be the next leader of the Church at Nolensville. We are grateful for every one of you who has prayed alongside us and encouraged us throughout this process.

From the outset, we trusted that God already knew who He was calling to this role — our job was simply to seek Him earnestly and walk forward in obedience.

As we evaluated each candidate, several priorities stayed at the center of our search:

  1. That this individual is genuinely called to the Church at Nolensville.
  2. That he is prepared to shepherd our people and lead with a strong ability to disciple.
  3. That he can clearly, compassionately, and passionately proclaim the Gospel both locally and globally.

Today, we are excited to present Blake Finuf as our candidate.

Blake’s ministry has been marked by a steady commitment to shepherding people, developing leaders, and helping everyone find their place in the life of the church. His experience across a variety of ministry contexts has given him a broad understanding of both the opportunities and challenges churches face. He is also a gifted communicator who is clear, compassionate, and unmistakably called to open God’s Word for His people.

With each conversation and visit, we’ve seen a man genuinely at ease with people — someone who listens well, asks good questions, and lights up when talking about helping others find their place to serve. We’ve also been encouraged by his and his family’s evident love for the Church and their willingness to follow God’s leading with humility and faith. We’re confident you’ll be encouraged as you get to know them.

We are grateful this process has led us here and that the team has arrived at this point in full alignment and unity. We ask that you would continue praying with us — that the Lord would guide our church, knit us together in unity, and make His will plain as we take our next steps together.

Nolensville Campus Pastor Search Team