TEBA CHURCH AND PASTOR SPOTLIGHT: Jon Canterbury at ForestView Church
In this month’s Church and Pastor spotlight, we spoke with Jon Canterbury, pastor of a new church plant, Forest View Church, located between Conroe and Willis, where he has pastored for the past year. He received his MDiv from Baylor University, where he met his wife, Myka, and his PhD from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. They have been married for fifteen years with two children, Grayson (14) and Reece (13).
Tell us about your current ministry context.
Jon: Our immediate context is a flood of white-collar families moving into the area. We’re in a middle school set between two massive neighborhoods. What’s fascinating to me is that the age of the congregation usually reflects a church planter’s age; Forest View is 50% people in their 20s, 50% over the age of 55, making my wife and I the only mid-30s couple presently in the church. That translates to no children’s ministry right now – the only kids are mine. We’re also seeing a shift in preaching that has worked well for us: in the 1950s, the 3-point alliterated sermon was helpful for memory, followed by a shift in the 80s to pragmatism, led by Rick Warren. Now we’re seeing a desire amongst congregants to want to learn ‘why’ they should be doing this or that. It’s a deeper theological pool that, when preached simply & effectively, helps them make better sense of life & godliness. And in that, we want to bring the meat of the gospel into it, even if it means we cover less of it to go thicker.
What is God teaching you in this season?
Jon: There’s a difference in a drive springing up from feelings of insecurity & doing versus a drive that comes from a peace with where things are at. I’ve shouldered burdens that weren’t mine to shoulder. The Lord’s going to do what he’s going to do; my job is to serve and faithfully obey what I’m told. There’s a peace that is developing in my soul because of this. The challenge is, can I maintain this posture, or do I let the natural habit of doing and running amok shift back into my life?
What advice would you offer to other pastors or new church planters?
Jon: In preaching, you’re not trying to create something new. Everything has already been preached; you’re trying to faithfully preach the text. When people start hearing the same thing coming out of your mouth over time, that’s not bad, it means they’re starting to understand the basics of the gospel you’re preaching. I’ve found so much joy and meaning from people saying, ‘It seems like you talk a lot about this.’ Yes! You’re starting to get it, and when they can start to tell me what’s going to be said next from a sermon, I know it’s starting to click.
How can the churches of the TEBA be praying for you?
Jon: We’re in Exodus, and Moses offers a prayer, “Lord, if you’re not in this, let us not go.” As I was praying this prayer for our church plant before launching, multiple people informed me they were praying the exact same prayer for us. Shepherding God’s people is highly sacrificial, but please pray that the sacrifice would be mine and not my family’s.
