Rev. Serena Kleppinger

Lead Pastor - Rev. Serena Kleppinger

Pastor Serena Kleppinger is an ordained elder in the Church of the Nazarene and has served on the pastoral staff at Darby Creek for the past five and a half years. She has served in ministry for more than 20 years, with ministry experience on the Metro New York, New England, and South Central Ohio Districts.

Pastor Serena earned her bachelor's degree from Eastern Nazarene College in Quincy, Massachusetts, completed her pastoral training through Nazarene Bible College, and holds a Master of Arts in Church and Community from Trevecca Nazarene University in Nashville, Tennessee.

She is passionate about preaching and teaching God's Word, helping people grow as disciples of Jesus, connecting the church with its community, and cultivating a church where every generation belongs and grows together. At the heart of her ministry is the desire to see the local church deeply rooted in Christ and actively sharing His love with the community around it.

Beyond her ministry at Darby Creek, Pastor Serena serves the South Central Ohio District Church of the Nazarene in several leadership roles, including Studies Chair for the Board of Minsitry, Pastoral Sustaining Circle leader, and member of both the District Mission Strategy Team and District Discipleship Board. She also recently served as the district's Nazarene Youth Conference Coordinator, helping to lead a group of 242 students and leaders from South Central Ohio to NYC '26 in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Pastor Serena is also a writer and contributor to the broader Church. She regularly contributes to A Plain Account, a Wesleyan-Holiness commentary resource, and contributed a chapter to Endurance & Grace: Collected Wisdom from Women of Faith, edited by Rev. Dr. Samantha Chambo. Most recently, she completed a rewrite of the Pastoral Ethics course for the Church of the Nazarene's global pastoral training program, helping to equip developing pastors for faithful and ethical ministries.

Through each of these areas of ministry, Pastor Serena's desire is the same: to help people know Jesus more deeply, grow in their faith, and live out the love of Christ in the world around them.