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Chad Veach

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Chad Veach
OccupationsPastor and author
SpouseJulia Veach
Websitewww.zoechurch.org

Chad Veach is an American evangelical pastor, author, and founder of Zoe Church, a youth-oriented Christian congregation that is based in Los Angeles, California. Veach has been the subject of significant mainstream press coverage, which often focuses on Veach's taste in streetwear[1] and sneakers[2] and his links to celebrities like actor Chris Pratt,[3] the Kardashians[4][5][6] and singer Justin Bieber, which have been chronicled on Veach's Instagram account.[7][8]

Early life and family

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Veach was born in 1979 and grew up on Whidbey Island where he graduated in 1998 from Oak Harbor High School in Oak Harbor, Washington. His father, Dave Veach, is a District Supervisor with Foursquare Church in Tacoma, Washington. Growing up he attended Shelton Christian Fellowship (now called Gateway Christian Fellowship), as his parents were youth pastors there. As a young man, Veach “wasn't solid in his faith at all,” according to his father.[7] In an interview with The Christian Post, Veach said that he had "a foot in, a foot out" of church as a teenager, but that attending a Promise Keepers event was a turning point for him: "it's the typical prodigal son story who has an experience and then says, 'Wait, what I had back home was way better. I'm going back home and to church.' I had sown some wild oats but nothing too crazy."[9] Veach's two siblings are also pastors.[7]

Veach attended Life Pacific College, a Foursquare denominational Bible college located in San Dimas, California, graduating in 2002.

Career

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Veach started as a youth pastor in El Monte, California. In 2004, Veach took a job counseling teens and young adults for United Generation ministry in Puyallup, Washington. In 2013, he became associated with Judah Smith, spiritual adviser to Justin Bieber and lead pastor of Churchome, a multi-site megachurch based in Seattle and Los Angeles. [7]

In 2014, Chad Veach and his wife Julia Veach moved to Los Angeles and started their ministry with informal gatherings at their home. Zoe Church began its services in borrowed space in a small church in Santa Monica and, after one day at the 1 Oak nightclub in Hollywood. Zoe Church had services at the Fonda nightclub. Zoe Church moved to the El Rey Theatre on Wilshire Boulevard. Services were also held at the Million Dollar Theater in downtown Los Angeles. Veach told the New York Times that he modeled Zoe Church after Hillsong Church and Church of the Highlands.[7]

In 2017, Veach and Judah Smith accompanied Justin Bieber on his Purpose World Tour, reportedly to serve as “positive influences.”[7] Videos of Veach with Justin Bieber have appeared on Veach's Instagram account.[7]

In August 2022, Zoe Church bought the 98 year old Buddhist Temple in Highland Park for their future church site.[10]

Personal life

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Veach is married to the former Julia MacGregor. The couple has four children.

Veach has a tattoo on his left arm that reads “Better at 70,” in the handwriting of Justin Bieber.[7]

Anti-LGBTQ stances

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Veach and his wife Julia were executive producers on the 2017 film The Heart of Man, a docudrama on "sexual brokenness". The film treats same-sex attraction, porn addiction, and infidelity as examples of such brokenness.[11][12]

Veach's church has been criticized by actor Elliot Page for being "infamously anti-LGBTQ".[13] Actor Chris Pratt spoke on the matter, denying the anti-LGBTQ stance and saying that the Zoe Church "opens its doors to absolutely everyone".[14]

Chad Veach and Zoe Church are both affiliated and associated with Hillsong Church by attending and speaking at Hillsong conferences and structuring Zoe church similar to Hillsong church.[15] Veach was close friends with Hillsong's pastor, Carl Lentz. Veach told The New York Times that he modeled his church, in part, after Hillsong.[16]

References

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  1. ^ Schube 2017.
  2. ^ Christian 2019.
  3. ^ Turner 2019.
  4. ^ "Kourtney Kardashian Gets Parenting Tips From Controversial Evangelical Pastors". HuffPost. 2019-08-29. Retrieved 2023-01-08.
  5. ^ McCarty, India (2022-05-26). "Hollywood Pastor Chad Veach Officiates Kourtney Kardashian's Marriage to Travis Barker". Movieguide | The Family Guide to Movies & Entertainment. Retrieved 2023-01-08.
  6. ^ Law, Jeannie (28 August 2019). "Kardashian asks pastors Chad and Julia Veach how to share faith with her kids". www.christiantoday.com. Retrieved 2023-01-08.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h Holson 2018.
  8. ^ Jones 2018.
  9. ^ Martinez 2014.
  10. ^ Cabral, Javier (2022-08-23). "Christian Church Accused of Being Anti-LGBTQ Buys Highland Park's Bright Orange Buddhist Temple". L.A. TACO. Retrieved 2022-10-21.
  11. ^ "Pastor Chad Veach Reveals Why 'Every Person' Needs to Watch 'The Heart of Man' Prodigal Son Docudrama". www.gospelherald.com. Archived from the original on 2021-05-10. Retrieved 2022-02-17.
  12. ^ The Heart of Man (2017) - IMDb, retrieved 2022-02-17
  13. ^ McLaughlin, Kelly (February 8, 2019). "Ellen Page calls out Chris Pratt's 'infamously anti-LGBTQ' church — where Jenners, Biebers, and other celebrities have also worshipped". Insider.
  14. ^ McLaughlin, Kelly (February 11, 2019). "Chris Pratt says he 'believes that everyone is entitled to love who they want' after Elliot Page called his church 'infamously anti-LGBTQ'". Insider.
  15. ^ "Here's Everything You Need To Know About Chris Pratt's Religious Controversies After He Compared Himself To Jesus". Yahoo Life. 11 May 2023. Retrieved 2023-05-16.
  16. ^ Tapp, Tom (2022-06-29). "Chris Pratt Says He Never Went To Controversial Church, Reveals Where He Does Worship". Deadline. Retrieved 2023-05-01.
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Sources

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