Staff

Dave Ainsworth - Lead Pastor

Dave and Maggie have been married since 2005, serving together in ministry. They have three children: Shepherd, Trinity, and Lucy.

In 2011, Dave and Maggie visited family in San Francisco and ran the San Francisco Half Marathon. The course started downtown, ran out and back across the Golden Gate Bridge, and ended at Golden Gate Park, offering a beautiful tour of the city. In just one day, they were both captured and burdened for San Francisco. It’s a wonderful place lost to the God who created its wonder.

After pastoring in Houston for five years, they finally moved to the city in 2014 and joined Citizens as a pastor in 2017. Family life in the city is always interesting, and their family’s love for San Francisco remains stronger than ever. Dave and Maggie earnestly believe the gospel of Jesus empowers broken people to flourish and want to be part of a gospel church where all types of broken people flourish.

Georgia Lee - deacon of justice & operations

Georgia is a staff deacon with Citizens, working full-time for the church in two main realms:

(1) Communications and Operations — coordinating gatherings, connecting with visitors, welcoming new members, and communicating with our church family (2) Justice and Mercy Ministries — teaching our church about God’s heart for justice & mercy and facilitating spaces for transformational & mutually-beneficial relationships between our church, friends on the margins, and local organizations.

Georgia grew up in North Carolina, graduated from Elon University, and moved to San Francisco in 2015. She has a heart for participating in God’s redemptive story through pursuing justice, being a part of missional communities, and inviting others to know & enjoy God.

Maggie Ainsworth - Children’s Ministry Director

In addition to Maggie’s partnership in planting Citizens Church, she serves as the Children’s Ministry Director, writing our weekly curriculum and training teachers. Maggie has worked and taught in preschool and elementary school settings, both in the general classroom and in special education. She has a passion for ministry which sees and values kids as kids, both for their own sake and for any adult who wants to follow Jesus with childlike faith.

deaconS

In addition to Georgia, Citizens is also led by five non-staff deacons. These men and women have taken responsibility over a certain area of Citizens’ ministry, furthering the mission of the church by sacrificially providing organizational leadership, support, skill, and encouragement to the body of Christ under the direction of the elders.

John Stiefel

NETWORK Partner

Harbor Network

When Dave joined in 2017, he brought with him a partnership with Harbor Network (formerly the Sojourn Network). Harbor Network is a church planting network committed to helping pastors launch, lead, and multiply thriving churches.

Harbor Network is theologically-robust, relationally-driven, and rich with experience in planting healthy churches in creative urban contexts like San Francisco.

Citizens has been significantly shaped and encouraged by their influence, especially their emphasis on pastoral health and renewal-driven mission. Check out the Harbor Network here.

EXTERNAL PARTNERS

In addition to our internal ministry efforts, Citizens also supports individuals and churches carrying out God’s mission around the world. We do this in obedience to the biblical call to generosity and to the Great Commission, which tells us make disciples locally, regionally, nationally, and globally.