God has led me on an incredible faith journey culminating in this very exciting moment. I couldn’t be more thankful, honored, and amazed by His great faithfulness.
The Lord saved me at an early age—captivated my heart & called me into ministry. I knew He wanted me to surrender my life to Him through full time service, but I wasn’t sure what that would look like practically until many years later.
I grew up as a PK (preacher’s kid) in a mission-minded church where I learned to see ministry through the lens of missions. We were on mission to reach lost people, and to this day, I maintain that same missions/ministry mindset.
God’s plan continued to unfold when I married my wonderful wife Tita, and we had 3 children in Tampa, Florida. During that season, I served as a seventh-grade boys Sunday school teacher and loved working with teenagers. I also worked for my father-in-law’s company and expected to spend my life growing the family business. But, about this time, God began giving me more and more clarity about the future. He encouraged me to take a step of faith and let go of my business dreams. He asked me to work for Him full time in His work of reaching lost people and discipling them with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
It was then that my family came to North Carolina. I enrolled in Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. While in school, God gave me the amazing opportunity to serve as student pastor at First Baptist Creedmoor. My family and I fell in love with the community, and we thought we would stay there long-term, but God had other plans.
After 5 years at Creedmoor, God called us to step out in faith and follow Him to Wilmington, North Carolina, where I would serve as student pastor at Scotts Hill Baptist Church. For the past 12 years, I have had the privilege of serving at Scotts Hill and have seen God do some awesome things beyond my wildest imagination.
But once again, God is calling me to step out in faith. This time He is asking me to plant a church. I never planned on doing this, but looking back I see how God has prepared me for this moment. Reflecting over my faith history, I am confident God has unbelievably extraordinary plans ahead, and I’m taking a step in faith. I invite you to do the same.
- Jonathan Cockrell