Pastor Emile Burgess was born and raised in Sacramento, California, in a Roman Catholic family. At a local Community College there, some courageous Christians shared with him the gospel message of Christ crucified for sins and it changed his life forever. The new knowledge that his sins were fully forgiven because of Jesus’ life and death gave him a peace like he had never known before.
He joined St. Mark’s Lutheran Church in Citrus Heights, CA, impressed by the knowledge of the pastors and the rigor of education required of them in the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS).
After some time working in a foster agency and attending college part-time, he began studying at Martin Luther College to himself become a pastor. He completed the requirement to become a WELS pastor after four years of study at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary, including an internship (vicar) year spent in Hastings, MN.
His first Divine Call out of the Seminary in 2007 was to a large country church and school: Trinity Lutheran, in Caledonia, WI. After ten formative years there, he accepted a Call to serve a dual-campus church in Minnesota: Crown of Life Lutheran, in West St. Paul and Eagan. Nine years later, he accepted the Call to Cross of Christ to serve as Nampa Campus Pastor.
Pastor Burgess is married to Rachel, a proud Texan native, whom he met at Martin Luther College, and they have three children, each about two years apart: Lydia, Vivian, and Micah. Rachel is a wonderful “domestic engineer” (as her husband likes to refer to her), doing the lion’s share of the work of homeschooling their children. She is an adjunct professor for Martin Luther College, helping to train current and future teachers in WELS. Pastor Burgess and his family are thrilled to be proclaiming the cross of Christ to and with Idahoans in the Treasure Valley, as God grants it, impacting lives for eternity.