A pastor and youth ministry professional with experience in faith development, church camping, and congregational leadership, Darren Cowdrey serves as the pastor of UMC Westlake Village, where he leads worship, provides pastoral care, and works with church members and volunteers. His previous pastoral appointments include San Luis Rey Valley UMC, the California Pacific Conference, Palisades UMC, Good Shepherd UMC, and Shepherd of the Hills UMC. Across these roles, Darren Cowdrey has developed programs for children, teenagers, young families, and adult members while coordinating ministry activities, staff responsibilities, volunteer teams, and church administration.
Mr. Cowdrey previously served as the director of camping and young people's ministry for the California-Nevada Conference of the United Methodist Church. In this position, he supported youth and children's ministry workers across more than 340 churches and helped coordinate retreats, service projects, leadership training, faith camps, and culturally focused camping experiences. He also worked with the Board of Camping and Retreat Ministries and the Conference Committee on Young People's Ministry, where he oversaw volunteers, staffing, programming, marketing, funding, and health and safety matters. Mr. Cowdrey earned a master of divinity from the Pacific School of Religion and was ordained in the United Methodist Church. He also holds a bachelor's degree in English from UC Irvine, with minors in film and Spanish.