Today we’d like to introduce you to Pastor Tyler Braucht.
Hi Pastor Tyler, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I was born right here in the Twin Cities in February, 1987. I grew up in a Christian home as a Pastor’s kid. My parents, Joe & Vicki, are the Founding Pastors of Destiny Christian Church. After serving in the Church of God denomination as the State Youth Directors, they were asked to take a small struggling church in Lakeville called “Valleyview” at the time. They started with 12 faithful families (most are still with us today!) and quickly outgrew the building! Its amazing to me that the same people who once changed my diapers, now call me Pastor! It’s so rare to see such longevity and legacy in churches today, and I’m so grateful and blessed to to be apart of that.
My parents broke away from the Church of God to become non-denominational, started Destiny Christian Church, and moved the church into the Kenwood Highschool where we would setup and tear down every Sunday with a team of dedicated volunteers. In 1994, we moved into a warehouse in Burnsville, and in 2022 we moved to our beautiful new facility in Apple Valley! Destiny Christian Church has been a long-standing Bible-based church in the community for over 30 years! My parents have gone through many challenging circumstances, as every pastor does, and I watched and learned as they trusted God through it all. They are incredibly faithful and dedicated people!
After seeing all the pain, tears and difficulties my parents experienced in ministry, many often wonder why I chose to continue down this path. The simple answer is this: I know it’s what God has called me to do. When I was 14 years old, doing my devotions and quiet time with the Lord, I heard the Lord tell me that I was going to be a Pastor. I didn’t tell anyone at that time, but 2 weeks later, we had a special guest speaker in to the church by the name of Ivan Tait who operated in the gifts of the Spirit including the gift of prophecy. He called me out and gave me a word from the Lord that confirmed my calling into full-time ministry! I had never spoken to him before, but the words he spoke were exactly what I had heard the Lord tell me in my prayer time 2 weeks prior. From that day forward, I pursued every opportunity to serve in the church and develop my calling as a Pastor.
I was homeschooled, so being at church was my social life. My wife Jessica and I met at our church (the best place to meet your future spouse!) We were always heavily involved in serving in various ways from children’s ministry, youth ministry, and countless events. After dating for 2 years, we got married in 2007. We went through bible school, and pursued full-time ministry together.
Our first opportunity to work at our church came in the form of scrubbing toilets lol. We were hired on as the Janitors part-time. After working our day jobs at Caribou and Pizza Hut, and attending bible classes in the evenings, we would clean the entire church and restock the bathrooms.
We then served as the youth pastors while still working our part-time jobs. I worked at Caribou Coffee as a barista, and she worked at Pizza Hut as a waitress at the lunch buffet (remember those days?!)
Eventually, I was hired full-time as Youth Pastor, and she was hired as the Finance Administrator allowing us to quit our part time jobs in the food industry to work full time at the church.
After 10 years in youth ministry, we were asked to be Campus Pastors at our Owatonna Campus 45 minutes south of the city. We served in the position for 2 years, until we were asked to be the Campus Pastors of our Main campus at the time in Burnsville.
In 2022, our church relocated to Apple Valley, MN. After functioning as Lead Pastors in form while my parents focused on their new ministry called “The Resting Place” in Tucson, AZ, that position was officially handed to us in title this past April, 2025! It’s been an amazing journey, and we believe the best is yet to come! We have a big vision for the future of Destiny Church. I want to honor my parents legacy by continuing what they started.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
We’ve experienced the highs and lows that often come with ministry life. In 2005, we went through a devastating church split that we didn’t know if we’d recover from. I was a Sr in Highschool, and watched as my parents navigated through that painful season. The mistake they made was trusting a new hire too quickly. He came from a large, reputable international church, and with his experience and qualifications, he was placed as the Staff Administrator and Executive Pastor. He ended up convincing some our most influential leaders and their families to leave our church. As the saying goes, “birds of a feather flock together” and they did. It was so hurtful to see my friends leave over the next couple years.
When Destiny moved to Apple Valley in 2022, we had to completely remodel the building that used to be a realty office into a church! That project had all sorts of obstacles including the install of a new loadbearing ceiling beam.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Our mission statement is this: Reach the lost, restore the fallen, and renew the passion in people.
We reach the lost by sharing the hope we have in Jesus, and giving an altar call at every service. We want to make sure we give people the opportunity to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior before they leave.
We restore the fallen by having a culture of grace and mercy. We understand that no one is perfect, we all mess up, but God’s grace is greater than our sin, and we get back up and move forward in Christ.
We renew the passion by preaching the truth of God’s Word, and motivating people to thrive in all areas of their life by following the ways of Jesus. The Bible says there’s a way that seems right to man, but it leads to death. We believe that Jesus is the Way, the truth and the life, and when you go His way, and live in obedience to His Truth, it leads us to a better life. Life is better with Jesus!
Our Ministry emphasis in our weekly services is anointed praise & worship and teaching the whole truth of God’s word (even if some people might get offended cause sometimes the truth hurts). We like to say “grace saves us, and truth frees us!” We recognize that we are saved by grace through faith in Jesus, and it’s the truth of God’s Word that sets people free.
Service times are Sundays at 10 AM
Christmas Eve – 5 PM
What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
Faithfulness – Being steadfast in our beliefs and convictions. Walking in obedience to what the Lord is asking us to do. Faith without works of obedience is dead faith.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.destinycc.org/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/destinychristianchurch
- Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/destinycc.org/
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@destinychristianchurch
