He also has been endorsed by the Presbytery of Minnesota Valleys and is expected to be endorsed by several other presbyteries as well, according to Sharon Johnson, executive presbyter of Northern Waters.
That makes Nielsen the fourth person to seek the position – along with Cynthia Bolbach, a lawyer and elder from National Capital Presbytery; Jin S. Kim, pastor of the Church of All Nations in Minneapolis, nominated by the Presbytery of the Twin Cities Area; and Maggie Lauterer, pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Burnsville, N.C., who was endorsed by the Presbytery of Western North Carolina.
A minister for nearly 20 years, Nielsen previously served as pastor of congregations in East Moline, Ill., and Conrad, Iowa. Although serious about music – he took voice lessons, was part of his university’s opera company and earned an audition with the Metropolitan Opera (some clips of his hymn singing can be found on YouTube) – Nielsen studied economics at the University of Northern Iowa and planned to become a high school teacher.
That’s not how it worked out.
People began to suggest to him that he consider entering the ministry. One day the pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Waterloo, Iowa, where Nielsen had been helping with the choir, handed him an envelope containing a plane ticket to Kentucky. Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary was holding an exploratory weekend for prospective students; the session of the Waterloo church wanted him to go.
In 1991, Nielsen graduated from Louisville seminary with a Master of Divinity degree. In Northern Waters presbytery, he has been one of the leaders of a series of meetings involving six presbyteries in Minnesota and Wisconsin (called the “six-pack” meetings) to brainstorm for ways to work together better in ministry.
He has served on the Permanent Judicial Commission in both Northern Waters and Great Rivers presbyteries, and, in 2006, as moderator of the Synod of Lakes and Prairies.
Nielsen and his wife, Lisa, have two children.
