Pastor Brad Cusson Leaves Legacy at St. Matthew, Rocklin (CA)

Pastor Brad Cusson is finishing his time at St. Matthew Lutheran Church, Rocklin (CA), which began in October 2025, with joy for what God has accomplished and excitement for what is to come with Pastor Luke Timm and the congregation.

"Ken Semmler, now with the Lord, called me three times before I actually took the call. The third time, I was literally walking out the door to a meeting at church. He introduced himself and said they were from Roseville, California and thought they might want me to be their pastor. I told him I had to go, asked him to call me the next night, and hung up," Pastor Brad said of his initial interactions.

"I turned to (my wife) Jane and said, 'I have no idea where Roseville, California is, but I think we're going.' I couldn't explain it. I just knew," he added.

Becoming a pastor wasn't his obvious path. He had been working toward a teaching career. But in what he called "a Jonah story," doors began to open for a different calling. Living in Huntington Beach with Jane, they had everything they wanted, yet something didn't feel right.

"I had just finished my teacher's education and had job offers, but they all wanted me to stay for three years to learn their system. God at that time, even though we had everything we wanted, I went through a terrible time, what I call a time of discontent. Something wasn't right. It was a terrible time. Jane hung in there with me."

He turned down the teaching jobs, helped an older pastor with services in nursing homes, and took classes at Concordia Irvine. He continued to work the night shift at a local grocery store while going through school. One of his teachers was Dr. Charles Manske and he asked him about possibly going to the seminary and he was accepted at Fort Wayne.

Seminary was followed by 18 years at Mt. Zion Lutheran in Denver, Colorado before the call from St. Matthew came.

After working through the discernment process, it became clear to Pastor Brad that St. Matthew was where God intended him to be.

"They had named the church St. Matthew because of the Great Commission in Matthew's Gospel. That mission was literally baked into their identity before I ever arrived. And that was all I was looking for. I wasn't really looking for a call, but if God was going to connect me with people who wanted to do mission work, this was the place."

St. Matthew, founded in 1996, was meeting in a storefront when Pastor Brad arrived and hosting VBS at a local park in over 100-degree heat. The desire to reach people was only just beginning.

The Journey of St. Matthew

"They were a little crazy in the best possible way, but so were we. We were made for each other," Pastor Brad said. "Within a few weeks of arriving, I took three or four people to what was called a Lamplighter vision retreat, where we talked about Big Humongous Audacious goals (BHAG) for the church. And we had a lot of them."

With land already purchased, the congregation raised $1.6 million in a Stepping Out in Faith campaign to build what would become known as "the Green Church." Contemporary worship followed, along with small groups and new ministries.

"It was, by any honest measure, not very good. But sometimes you have to start things that are worth doing, let them be imperfect, and trust that they'll get better. They did," Pastor Brad said of the beginning of contemporary worship.

St. Matthew outgrew that location and moved to their current building, but the mission stayed the same. "When we found the current campus, the congregation caught the vision immediately. All this space, all this opportunity to do ministry. They were ready to move. And they did," Pastor Brad said.

Many people shaped this journey, including key staff members former DCE Matt Molinari, Dr. Marco Mejia, Worship Arts Director, and Jen Casey, Family Ministry Director.

What does retirement look like?

He knows a sabbath is needed in getting away down south and lean into his role as father to his three children and grandfather to six grandchildren. His wife, Jane, was called to glory in 2013.

As St. Matthew enters a new season, we look back with gratitude on the example Pastor Brad leaves behind and forward with anticipation to what is to come.