Craig Pinley is a co-associate pastor of Youth and Family at First Covenant Church, along with his wife Mary. A native of Chicago, Craig was a youth pastor for seven years in California before heading to Chicago in 2000 to work for the department of Communication for the Evangelical Covenant Church's denominational office. He is a 1997 graduate of North Park Theological Seminary, earning a Master of Divinity in Youth Ministry and Christian Education. The Pinleys arrived in Mason City in November 2004 and in September of 2006 welcomed a daughter, Caroline Elise (Ellie) Pinley, into their home. She has added a lot of excitement to lives of her parents!
Along with his church responsibilities, Craig also works part-time for Northern Iowa Area Community College (NIACC) as a sports writer. He also writes freelance articles for the Mason City Globe Gazette newspaper and is the freshman/sophomore pitching coach for the baseball team at Mason City High School. A baseball player while an undergraduate at North Central College in Naperville, Illinois, he also plays amateur baseball for teams in southern Minnesota and Cedar Rapids and enjoys reading and snarfing Chicago style pizza during his free time. He can be reached by email at craigpin@yahoo.com.