GOD BLESS THE MEMORY OF REV DIEHL. MY BELOVED PASTOR GROWING UP AT THE CHURCH OF THE NAZARENE IN OSKALOOSA IOWA. ALSO MY VERY GOOD FRIEND THROUGH THE YEARS. GOD BLESS!
James Harvey Diehl
September 5, 1937 ~ November 2, 2025
Born in:
Des Moines, Iowa
Resided in:
Lakewood, Colorado
Early on Sunday morning, November 2, 2025, General Superintendent Emeritus James H. Diehl joined the great cloud of witnesses and changed his address to his eternal heavenly home. He was born on September 5, 1937, in Des Moines, IA, to Donald and Della Diehl. When he was a teenager at Des Moines First Church, he met the love of his life, Dorothy Ann Stanley, and received a call to full-time pastoral ministry. Jim and Dorothy married and moved to Bourbonnais, IL to attend Olivet Nazarene University.
Dr. Diehl pastored churches in Iowa; Muscatine, Indianola, and Oskaloosa Nazarene, and then was called to serve as Assistant to the President for MidAmerica Nazarene University. Feeling led to reduce travel and be home with his young family, Dr. Diehl accepted the call to pastor Atlanta First Church of the Nazarene in Georgia. The growth and leadership he provided to that growing church in the south brought many opportunities to move into district leadership and after just five years in Atlanta, Jim accepted the role of Superintendent for the Nebraska District Church of the Nazarene. He loved the people of Nebraska and provided great leadership for six years. Dr. Diehl was then called to the Colorado District Church of the Nazarene where he served until one of his own churches he was helping in their pastoral search asked him to consider becoming their pastor. That decision allowed Dr. Diehl to return to the local church pulpit doing what he loved the most; pastoring and preaching in a local congregation. The Diehl’s enjoyed almost 5 years of Spirit-filled ministry at Denver First Church of the Nazarene until the General Church of the Nazarene elected him General Superintendent, where he spent 16 years traveling internationally, preaching and providing leadership. Dr. Diehl enjoyed tracking all the places he preached, and the number of countries he visited. Recently, Dr. Diehl was met on his flight by the corporate leadership of United Airlines and was recognized for reaching over 2 million miles traveled. Since retirement, while Jim no longer had a congregation, he developed new avenues of ministry through social media and writing. During the pandemic he began the online devotional videos “10-minutes to refuel with Pastor Jim Diehl” and more recently published “Refuel, Refresh, Revive” inspired by this video series. He continued to travel around the country preaching in churches, holding revivals and camp meetings and connecting with his Facebook “congregation.”
Dr. Diehl’s greatest pride and joy was his family. And while family time was limited due to his ministry roles, the holidays, trips to their cabin at St. Mary’s Glacier, or meals at favorite restaurants provided cherished moments of laughter, tears, and memories for a lifetime. The Diehl’s youngest son, David, passed away in 2008 after a brave battle with cancer. Jim’s beloved wife, Dorothy went before him to heaven in 2021. He is survived by his children Jodi (Bernie) Gitt of Littleton, Jim Diehl of Lakewood, Don (Diann) Diehl of Nashville, TN, daughter-in-law Lori of Murray, KY, 7 grandchildren, 14 great-grandchildren, 3 sisters; Donna Carlson, Dorothy Cornelison, and Kathy Crichton, and his brother, Rich Diehl.
A Celebration of Life will be held at the Lakewood Nazarene Church on Saturday, November 8 at 11am. Visitation with the family will begin at 9:30am in the church sanctuary. For those unable to attend, a live stream of the service will be available through the Lakewood Church Facebook Page and the Lakewood Church YouTube Channel.
In lieu of sending flowers, Dr. Diehl had asked that we provide an opportunity to sponsor university students’ Christian education through the James Diehl scholarship fund at both Mid-America Nazarene University and Olivet Nazarene University. Scholarships are awarded annually to students preparing for ministry service through the Nazarene Church.
MNU Link: Dr. James Diehl: Memorial
ONU Link: Dr. James Diehl: Memorial Gifts
Services
Celebration of Life: November 8, 2025 11:00 am
Lakewood Nazarene Church
1755 Dover Street
Lakewood, Colorado 80215
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2025-11-08 11:00:00
2025-11-08 11:00:00
JamesHarveyDiehlCelebration of Life
Celebration of Life
1755 Dover Street,Lakewood, Colorado 80215
Visitation: November 8, 2025 9:30 am
Lakewood Nazarene Church
1755 Dover Street
Lakewood, Colorado 80215
Add to My Calendar
America/Denver
2025-11-08 09:30:00
2025-11-08 09:30:00
JamesHarveyDiehlVisitation
Visitation
1755 Dover Street,Lakewood, Colorado 80215
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