Anderson to retire after 35 years at Wooddale Church

Anderson to retire after 35 years at Wooddale Church

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. — Evangelical leader Leith Anderson has announced plans to retire as senior pastor of his Eden Prairie, Minn., megachurch.

Anderson will end his 35-year pastoral leadership of the 5,000-member Wooddale Church at the end of the year. He will continue his role as president of the National Association of Evangelicals.

“Wooddale Church has been my ministry home for most of my life,” Anderson said in a statement. “It is a privilege to have served this congregation for so long, to know that the church is now strong and healthy and to look forward to what God will do in the future with a new senior pastor.”

Anderson, 66, will become pastor emeritus and minister-at-large at Wooddale, which has established nine other congregations in Minnesota.

In February, he was named to the White House’s advisory council on faith-based programs.