Our Pastor was born in Meadville, Pennsylvania on June 30, 1952. He moved many times over his formative years living in Baltimore, Maryland; Evanston, Illinois; Bayview Estates (near Largo) Florida; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Over those years he has been in Baptist, Methodist, and Independent churches. During his years as a business major at Drexel University he responded to the call of salvation in Christ Jesus and left a liberal congregation of the Methodist church to join an Independent Fundamentalist church, Church of the Open Door, Fort Washington, Pennsylvania. At that church he grew in faith and ministry. He was active in the College & Career fellowship, took over the Junior High program, became Youth Pastor, was ordained, and became Assistant Pastor.

Over his years of ministry among the youth at Church of the Open Door he attended and graduated from Biblical Theological Seminary in Hatfield, Pennsylvania. From his course of studies he became convicted that the Presbyterian form of church government was most Biblically correct and afforded the greatest protection, with its various checks and balances, to abuse of church power. He also became convinced that the Reformed expression of Protestant Christianity, as summarized in the Westminster Confession of Faith, was the most accurate reflection of Biblical teaching. Acting on those convictions he joined the Reformed Presbyterian Church, Evangelical Synod in 1981. Shortly after, February 1982 he took a pastorate in Chesapeake, Virginia. At the end of 1985 he became pastor of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Mt. Laurel, New Jersey. Since then the church has grown from 50 to 125 members.

He is a member of the International Conference of Police Chaplains and has done chaplaincy work for the Haddon Township and Mt. Laurel police departments. He has also had limited involvement in the past with the Camden County Police Stress Unit.

He was married in 1975 and has two grown daughters. His great grandparents were officers in the Salvation Army and, being immigrants from Sweden and Norway, planted Scandinavian Corps among the Swedish and Norwegian speaking immigrants in various cities in the US in the early 1900's.

Pastor Englestad has been an active member in the Presbytery of New Jersey. He has been chairman of on the Christian Education committee, the Church Minute's committee, the Ministerial Training committee, and the Prayer Committee. He has helped organize prayer retreats for the Presbytery and has served as treasurer for the past half dozen years. He has also been active at the General Assembly level on various committees of commissioners.