Meet Our Pastors
Yue (Simon Li), Chinese Minister
Minister Yue Li was born in Fujian, China, and holds a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Chemistry from Xiamen University, as well as a Ph.D. in Polymer Chemistry from Sun Yat-Sen University in China and a Ph.D. in Structural Biology from the University of Auckland in New Zealand. Additionally, he obtained a Master of Divinity degree from Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary. Before dedicating himself fully to the ministry, Minister Li had a successful career as a postdoctoral fellow at Cornell University, an associate research scientist at Yale University School of Medicine, and a research scientist at the Beckman Research Institute in the City of Hope, California.
Minister Li and his wife, Mrs. Yan Ke, have been committed followers of Jesus Christ since 1999. Through their pursuit of God’s truth, they have come to understand more of His infinite wealth, limitless knowledge, and unfailing love, which has deepened their understanding of sin and the precious salvation of Jesus Christ. The Lord has led their family to open their home to church brothers and sisters and to serve in various capacities, including teaching adult Sunday school. In 2012, the family moved to Calvary Baptist Church of New Haven (CBCNH), where Minister Li became a part-time student at Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary (GCTS) in 2017.
In July 2021, Minister Li responded to the calling of God and put down his research work to become a full-time student at GCTS. He graduated in May 2022, and in July 2022, he devoted himself fully to the ministry of shepherding the Church of God. Minister Li and his wife have been happily married for 30 years and have a son, Richard.
Patrick Nachtigall, English Pastor
Rev. Patrick Nachtigall was ordained in 1999 and holds degrees from Anderson University and Yale where he received an M.A.R. working with historians Dr. Jonathan D. Spence and Dr. Lamin Sanneh focusing on the role of Christianity during the process of modernization in the People’s Republic of China. He is the author of six books, three of which have been used in colleges and seminaries around the world, including Fuller Theological Seminary.
Born in Costa Rica, Patrick has lived in 7 countries on 4 continents and his ministry has taken him to over 80 countries on 6 continents. Patrick spent 10 years working with underground and Three-Selves Patriotic Movement churches in different parts of China. He also was a pastor at the Hong Kong Church of God in Tai Wai, Hong Kong. He became the Regional Coordinator for Europe and the Middle East for Global Strategy in 2010 and established the Three Worlds Team developing an innovative new way to structure a mission organization. He has extensive experience working with ethnic and international churches, having worked with Chinese churches in Asia, an Afro-Caribbean church in London, an Arabic church in Paris, Latin American churches in Italy and Spain, a Congolese congregation in the Netherlands, and an international church in Bulgaria as well as other indigenous churches in Latin America, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East.
His writings and work focus on the nexus between Christianity and globalization. His books focus on a wide array of issues, including the American cultural impact on Evangelical Christianity, the various pressures causing denominational decline, comparative religions from a Christian point of view, and Christian understanding of the Islamic World. Patrick loves reading books on geopolitics, economics, history, and religion.
Patrick has been married to Jamie Nachtigall since 1997. Jamie worked as the Membership Coordinator for the Yale Art Gallery and Yale Center for British Art while Patrick was a student at Yale. Upon returning to New Haven in 2024, Jamie assumed the position of Chaplaincy Manager at Yale University. Jamie grew up in Cairo, Egypt and has spent most of her life living overseas. Their son Marco was born in Hong Kong and raised in Germany. He is a senior at Gordon College in Wenham, Massachusetts.