Calvary Chapel in Cowboy Country
Young Pastor Experiences God’s Powerful Leading in Idaho’s Northeastern Ranch Country
Photos by Billy Rutledge
This story first appeared in Calvary Chapel Magazine Issue 103, Spring 2025.
Pastor Hagen Miller of Calvary Chapel Salmon, ID, baptizes believers on the Piva Ranch—a beautiful event, surroundings, and people.
From multigenerational Mormon to a young Calvary Chapel pastor, Hagen Miller’s journey has been marked by God’s grace and faithful discipleship—reminiscent of the early days of the Calvary Chapel Movement under Pastor Chuck Smith.
Invited as a teenager to youth group at Calvary Chapel Salmon, ID, Hagen was deeply steeped in his Mormon traditions. “I had no desire to try out a different church—I belonged to the true church,” the then-16-year-old believed. “I didn’t even think my parents would let me go to another church.” But his friend Taylor persisted, and Hagen’s parents drove him to the Thursday night meeting.
“It was like no other church experience I’d ever had,” Hagen fondly recalled. “We sat in a circle, singing songs to Jesus with a guitar—unique for my background—and that was appealing.” The pastor taught God’s Word with authority. “It was obvious right away that they believed this book. In Mormonism they believe the Bible to be the Word of God as far as it’s translated correctly; so, they think it’s good, but that there are errors.”
Hagen revealed, “I started reading the Gospel of John in my King James Version. Suddenly, it’s speaking directly to me—there was something special about this.” At home that week, Hagen accepted Jesus as his Savior. “Within two weeks, I went from not being concerned about the Word of God or what God was doing at CC Salmon to This is going to be the highlight of my week, and I want to be a part of what’s going on there.”
Now sold out for Jesus, Hagen never left CC Salmon. At the tender age of 21, he became the senior pastor of the church he loved. Currently 28 years old, he has led the thriving fellowship for seven years.
Set Free from Bondage
Fun on the ranch includes hay bales and Superman imitations.
A future cowboy, growing up with cattle, family, the land, and Jesus.
Hagen grew up in beautiful yet rural and isolated Salmon, in a stable, loving, cattle-ranching family. After becoming a Christian and until leaving for college, he continued to attend services at his Mormon church to honor his family—while growing spiritually at the youth group at Calvary Chapel every Thursday night.
“I was saved, but I thought the experience I’d had with Jesus somehow needed to fit into my Mormon context,” he admitted. After researching Mormonism online, “I realized that what I thought Mormonism was, is not at all what it is. That is the hardest thing I’ve ever had to come to grips with because everyone I’ve ever loved or respected is in this system.” He felt betrayed and alone, wondering if his family and church leaders knew what he had been learning.
“I literally said out loud, ‘I don’t think the Mormon church is true’—that’s revolutionary for a Mormon. That moment, I got set free from that religious bondage.” Hagen added that he is grateful that when he came to the point of his “Mormon world” collapsing, he already had an elementary relationship with Jesus. “I know a lot of people who get into issues with Mormonism and become agnostic.” Although Hagen’s family remains in the Mormon faith, he observed, “When I became a Christian, my dad was kind and gracious to me. He has always been very easy-going.”
Pastor Hagen (left) and his supportive father, a true cowboy and rancher, share a moment among God’s creatures.
Called to Ministry
Ethan Kelly looks the part of a western lawman, yet his occupation is second to his faith and family.
In the meantime, Pastor Ty Orr at CC Salmon was pouring into the young convert who spent most of his time at the church. Hagen was beginning to feel called into the ministry as a pastor. “I had a fascination with church outside of Sundays, a curiosity about ministry,” he confirmed.
He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again. 2 Corinthians 5:15
Just before leaving for college, the pastor asked Hagen to teach on a Youth Sunday. He chuckled at the irony: “This one Sunday that I didn’t go to the Mormon church, I go literally to teach at a church I’ve never attended on a Sunday morning. But through that 10-minute message, people of that church could see a calling and a gifting on my life.” He taught about the apostle Peter’s denial of Jesus, his restoration, and grace. “Grace is a big deal to me as a born-again Christian, being saved out of a works-based religion.” Hagen had also occasionally taught at youth group.
At Idaho State University in Pocatello, he and Taylor—now roommates—pursued student ministry, a Bible study called Christians on Campus. Despite having good conversations, it was discouraging. “These kids weren’t doubting Jesus; they were saying they believed in Jesus and could quote Bible verses, but they wanted to do their own thing right now,” Hagen shared. Hagen dropped out of college after that first year, abandoning his goal of a degree in finance to “make six figures. I realized that college was a waste of time and money. God was stirring in my heart that I should go back to Salmon, even without a career path. I remember calling my pastor, saying, ‘I don’t know what I’m going to do; I just want to be around to serve.’” Back home, now age 19, he took over the youth group and taught occasionally on Wednesday nights.
“The vision of CC Salmon is to ‘simply teach the Word of God simply.”
Under Pastor Hagan’s leadership, a 10,000-square-foot appliance store was purchased as the new CC Salmon home. The 200-seat sanctuary is filled twice on Sundays.
While the congregation is largely made up of middle-aged adults and senior citizens, a growing number of young families are now attending.
A Sudden Promotion
Part of the children’s ministry is the Bible Bee, where they are called on to quote memorized passages of Scripture.
As Hagen worked a construction job that he loved, God continued to stir in his heart the desire to be a pastor. “The problem was, I just loved my hometown and thought there was no way I could be a pastor here—Ty was pastor,” Hagen explained. Then Ty surprised him on a Wednesday night, telling him that he had been given the opportunity to pastor at Watersprings Church, a Calvary Chapel in Idaho Falls, ID, and offered the senior pastorate to Hagen—he accepted the next day. He humorously recalled, “It’s insane. Within a week, Ty was gone, and I was sitting behind his desk.”
Pastor Ty described choosing Hagen as his successor. “I knew he was gifted as a speaker the first time I heard him teach. I was also moved by the way he honored his father. I thought that if he was honoring his worldly father in this manner, he would surely honor his Heavenly Father. I also knew he had abandoned his Mormon theology, and he had figured it out on his own by reading the Gospel of John.”
Ty also recognized that Hagen showed true humility. Discipling him from high school on, both purposely and naturally—“doing life together”—he reflected, “Hagen had proven to me that he could fail well. He owned his mistakes. We used to tell assistant pastors, ‘Be caught being there.’ Hagen was there. It was his home church. I’m super-proud of that kid.”
Trickle-Down Discipleship
Hagen acknowledged, “The biggest thing that Ty gave me in ministry was opportunity. I try to give those same opportunities to younger people. Recently, I was gone on a Wednesday night, and I let a 17-year-old kid teach the study.”
Hagen mentors his assistant pastor and youth director, Jordan Shafer—just 21 years old. They met two years ago when Hagen taught at the Calvary Bible Institute in Yucca Valley, CA, and Jordan was immediately drawn to the straight-forward, lively way Hagen shared the Scriptures. Although Jordan is from a big-city church, CC Philadelphia, PA, he served as an intern at at rural CC Salmon and has never looked back. “Hagen gives a lot of freedom and is very trusting. He lets you do the task and figure it out—and comes in to help when he needs to.”
Spiritual & Physical Growth
Attendance at CC Salmon has doubled in seven years to about 400 on Sundays; property has expanded in size to cover a city block on the main street. Debt-free, they own four commercial buildings, a new sanctuary, the old sanctuary which now houses a K-8 Christian school, and an active food pantry. CC Salmon participates in city events like the Fourth of July parade and a Halloween outreach.
Hagen credits Jesus’ faithfulness for the growth. “The vision of CC Salmon is to ‘simply teach the Word of God simply’—that’s truly what’s priority to me and our people.” He admitted that from the beginning, the most important thing was to teach well. “I spent so much time on my studies because I was teaching people who have been saved longer than I’ve been alive. Everything else, I knew, would fall into place if I was faithful to the Word. If I keep feeding them, they’ll keep coming back.” Like ranching, ministry is not a job but a lifestyle, Hagen exhorted. “I really am intentional in making myself available, as much as I can possibly handle. I have an open-door policy at my office.” Jordan added, “He prays for people, and you can tell that he really cares about them. I want to imitate his heart in that.”
Elementary age church members raise funds for the CC Heritage Center, CC Salmon’s K-8 school, with an old-fashioned lemonade stand.
Saying Yes to Jesus
Ty Orr (right), former pastor of CC Salmon and now senior pastor of Watersprings Church in Idaho Falls, ID, shares a laugh with Hagen (center), to whom he left his church.
The youth group enjoys an aggressive game of musical chairs. Youth Pastor Jordan Shafer (front right) waits to teach a lesson on the Jewish tabernacle.
A large gathering of family and friends come for the baptism of Caden Piva and his three sons in the creek alongside his grandma’s ranch house.
What would look like a costume back East is the real deal in Idaho where rugged, singing cowboys cover the landscape.
Rancher Glenn Elzinga (left), a faithful member of CC Salmon, discusses the concerns of ranching and wildfires with Pastor Hagan (center).
What excites Hagen most is “watching young people take Jesus seriously, being able to feed God’s people God’s Word. We live in a world where [few] know the truth, but we as Christians know that the Bible is truth. Week in and out, I can share with them something that we can fully trust is 100% absolute.”
Looking to the future, Hagen emphasized, “My goal is to simply say Yes to Jesus.”
Thank you for reading! If this story inspired you, we invite you to partner with us in continuing the ministry God started over 27 years ago. We appreciate your prayerful consideration in joining us to reach more souls for Jesus.
© 2026 Calvary Chapel Magazine (CCM). All rights reserved. Articles or photographs may not be reproduced without the written permission of CCM. All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.® Used by permission.