As a minister, he founded churches in two southern Oregon communities and served as a missionary in Chile and Puerto Rico.

After finishing his seminary education, McLean married Lucy Ripley Norris on August 29, 1877, in Galena, Illinois.

[1] Shortly after their marriage, the McLeans left for Chile, where they served as Presbyterian missionaries in the town of Concepción for six years.

McLean spoke fluent Spanish, which allowed him to effectively interact with the people of Chile on a personal level.

During his time in Chile, MClean traveled widely, speaking to church groups around the country and founding several new Presbyterian congregations.

McLean's farm was located 11 miles (18 km) north of Linkville (later renamed Klamath Falls), between the small unincorporated communities of Algma and Naylox.

[8] While McLean began farming, he also made regular trips to Linkville to conduct Sunday church services.

At that time, there were no churches in Linkville (or anywhere in Klamath County), so Sunday services were held in the local schoolhouse and later in a hotel.

[1][2][9] While he was organizing his new congregation and making plans for construction of Linkville's first church building, Mclean decided he would also enter politics.

[16] Near the end of 1887, a delegation from Grants Pass, Oregon, approached McLean with an opportunity to establish a Presbyterian congregation in their community.

However, he remained in Grants Pass until 1899, when he finally accepted a position as pastor of Third Presbyterian Church, a new start-up congregation in Portland.

A year later with the construction project completed, McLean and his wife left Portland to pursue a mission opportunity in Puerto Rico.

[1][2][6][20] In 1902, McLean left Portland for a new missionary assignment in Puerto Rico, where he could put his Spanish language skills and familiarity with Hispanic culture to use again.

After his wife's death, McLean remained at Bethany Church for another two years before accepting a missionary position in the southwest United States.

He also stayed in touch with the Grants Pass community, sending regular letters to the local newspaper which were printed as travel articles.

[1][2][23][24] McLean died on October 30, 1926, at Glendale Sanatorium in the Eagle Rock neighborhood of northeast Los Angeles.

After the funeral service, his son accompanied his body to Grants Pass, Oregon, where he was buried next to his wife in a local cemetery.