Joe MacDonald has over twenty years of experience in church work. Before being a pastor, Joe spent many years serving as a music director in various United Methodist, Baptist, and Catholic Churches. He moved to New Mexico from Houston, Texas, in 2006. Pastor Joe taught choral music in several Houston-area public schools and served as Music Minister in both small and large member churches. He also sang professionally in Opera and Musical Theater while living in Houston.

Pastor Joe received his Bachelor of Arts with an emphasis in Music and Speech Communications from Houston Baptist University. It was there that he met his wife, Cazandra. After working in the public school system for thirteen years, she received her degree in Music Education from HBU. She worked as a National Patient Advocate in the Bio-Therapeutics Division of Optioncare. Joe’s emphasis is on vocal music, and Cazandra’s principal instruments are the oboe and the English horn.

While Joe was the Music Minister at First United Methodist Church in Deming, NM, he traveled to Denver once a week to pursue his Master of Divinity degree at the Iliff School of Theology. Despite the difficulty of commuting, he finished his degree in three years. Pastor Joe has served as the pastor of First United Methodist Church of Truth or Consequences, NM; Rio Rancho United Methodist Church in Rio Rancho, NM; Hamlin Memorial UMC in Farwell, TX; FUMC Belen, NM; and currently serves as Lead Pastor at St. Paul’s UMC in Las Cruces, NM. He completed his Doctor of Ministry Degree at the Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary in 2019.

Joe and Cazandra are both active in the bleeding disorders community in New Mexico, and he serves in different capacities at the state and national levels. Cazandra is a frequent writer, speaker, and blogger addressing the needs of the bleeding disorders community.

Joe and Cazandra have two boys, Julian and Caeleb. Julian is a singer and currently performs around the country. Caeleb majors in computer animation at the University of New Mexico.