Tara Beth Leach (born 1982) is an American evangelical pastor and author.
Leach was born in 1982.[1] She has said she first felt called to ministry while in high school but was told she couldn't be a pastor as a woman.[2] She has a BA in youth ministry from Olivet Nazarene University and an MDiv from Northern Seminary,[3][4] where she also worked as a teaching assistant for Scot McKnight.[5]
Leach was appointed Senior Pastor at First Church of the NazareneofPasadena ("PazNaz") in 2016,[3][6] the first woman in the role.[7][8] In 2017, she was the youngest female megachurch pastor in the United States.[1] Since 2023, Tara Beth has served as the Senior Pastor of Good Shepherd Church in Naperville, Illinois.[9][10]
Leach's first book, Emboldened, released in 2017, seeks to encourage women into Christian ministry.[11] Her 2021 book Radiant suggests church leaders need to look at themselves rather than culture to explain the trend away from church attendance.[12]
Leach married in 2006 and has two sons.[3]
