Ross Gilleland

Hello Church! My name is Ross Gilleland and I have been leading worship since 1996. I grew up in Sacramento, where I met my beautiful wife, Marybeth who grew up in Colorado. We both have served in the local church in various capacities, including leadership, youth ministry, worship, & production. In our downtime, you will find Marybeth crafting or consumed by a good book and you will find me outside, working with my hands. Marybeth, and I have three children, Madelene (Maddy), Jackson (Jack), & Owen. We have called Volcanoville home since 2021 and absolutely love this community on The Divide. Ask us some time about our story, moving from Sacramento to Volcanoville. It is filled with God's love and providence.

My story of how I came to know the Lord brings a smile to my face. I remember a good home before Jesus and an amazing home with Jesus. My parents came to know Jesus when I was 8 years old. It was an invitation to play on a volleyball team that exposed my parents to a community of believers who shared the love of Christ with our family. I remember it all like yesterday and it felt like our life went from 0-60. Oh, my Lord, how you changed our family. It was in this little Church that I learned that I was known by the Father and loved. In the last 6 months or so I have found myself taking account of marking moments in my life like coming to know the Lord, Baptism, ministry, etc. I remember my baptism at age 12 and the seasons of different ministries but could not recall what age I came to know Jesus. I knew that I was 8-10 years old and that it was in Sunday School. I really wanted to know so I prayed, "Lord, it would be amazing to know how old I was...". I thought maybe I'd find a note in my first Bible in an unpacked moving box and thought, this might take a while. Then something amazing happened. On September 23rd of this year, out of the blue, I received a text message from my first Sunday school teacher, Rosalie Vierra. Rosalie, nearing 80 years old, had been sharing the Good News with a couple of children who were visiting her that day. Noted inside the tract she was reading from were a few familiar names and a date, 9/13/92, the day I came to know the Lord. Thank you Lord for Rosalie and for answering my prayer, I now know...

Growing up, music was always in the air. My dad sang and played guitar and both my parents were a part of the worship team and choir. I started learning guitar at age 11, taking lessons at the local guitar store. My younger brother and I eventually graduated from rolling the length of the sanctuary under the pews during choir practice to being a part of the worship team. At age 13 and 11 respectively, I began playing electric guitar and my brother the drum kit on Sunday mornings. As we grew up (a little), we began to lead the worship for the youth group and at camps. Through tragedy and bliss, worship was and has been at the center of my life. I am grateful to have led worship for over 20 years in Sacramento, 5 of those years as worship pastor.

As God's creation, melody and verse move us. A good song is powerful. A good song makes my eyes tear up and goosebumps rise. A single trumpet playing Taps makes me quiet and still. Equally, as a guitar player, I just cannot stop smiling when I hear an electric guitar amplifier cranked to 10. Songs of praise on a Sunday morning, a Mozart concerto, a punk rock anthem, and a sappy love song all tug on our emotions, provoke thought, sometimes action, and sometimes they simply entertain us. This is where our heart posture and the focus of our attention as Christians is so important. On Sunday and every day after, it is so critical to remember that worship is more than music, it really includes our whole heart. In everything we do, we ought to bring glory to God by our obedience to God (1 Corinthians 10:31). We see this in our Sunday worship, where everything we do is both in pursuit of God's heart and builds up the Church (that's us). This includes reading and preaching Scripture (1 Tim. 4:14); melody and verse (Eph. 5:18–19; Col. 3:16); praying (1 Tim. 2:1–2, 8); celebrating the ordinances of baptism and communion (Matt. 28:19, 1 Cor. 11:17–34); and stirring one another up to love and good deeds (Heb. 10:24–25), all with our eyes on our Lord. As a worship leader, one of the most beautiful things to witness and be a part of is the song of the Church. There's a tension between leading and getting out of the way that is hard to explain. There are competing thoughts of "come on Church, let's go!" and "whew... I'm out of the way". This is my heart as a worship leader: that all of God's people in the room sing as one.