Heather Zempel

Heather Zempel serves as the Discipleship Pastor and Ministries Director at National Community Church (NCC) in Washington, DC. In addition to giving leadership to weekend ministry and discipleship initiatives across NCC’s seven campuses, she also serves on the weekend teaching team and on the Executive Leadership Team. With a masters degree in biological engineering and experience as a policy advisor in the United States Senate, she brings a unique perspective to ministry, leadership, and discipleship.

A professional enneagram 7, Heather is an avid people gatherer, bucket-list developer, and adventure seeker. She loves to give people first experiences, especially if they are related to sports, theatre, the outdoors, or Disney. Heather’s passion for connecting emerging generations with the depth and excitement of the Biblical narrative led her to develop a 3-part course called The Story, in which she has guided hundreds of participants into a deeper dive into Scripture. Her commitment to the growth, development, and deployment of next generation leadership led her to build the NCC Protégé Program and develop the NCC Emerging Leader Program.

Heather is the author of several books including Community is Messy, Amazed and Confused and Big Change, Small Groups and is a regular speaker at conferences and churches around the country. She loves football (Geaux Tigers), BBQ (preferably Memphis), and having adventures with her husband Ryan and fun-loving daughter Sawyer Elizabeth.