Meet The Pastor
Lead Pastor John Wilson
When I was younger, I never thought I would be pastor of a church. Sure, I was a Christian, and sure, I loved Jesus, but pastor, no, not me. In the years since, however, God has taken me on quite a journey.
I graduated from The College of New Jersey in 2004 with a degree in Music Education. I had started college with the aspiration to teach, but while at school, God did a lot of work on me. By the time I was done school, I was convinced being a Worship Leader was my thing. So I applied to a few positions, and ended up getting hired as a Worship Leader at Cornerstone Ministries in Ocean City, NJ.
About a year into my tenure, I was seated with the lead pastor of our church, Butch, after a sermon we heard preached at the Youth Specialties conference in Atlanta, GA. I cannot to this day remember what Andy Stanley preached on (sorry, brother), but after the sermon I was compelled to speak to Butch about how to better reach high school and college-aged students at our church. I recommended we start a worship service for these students, and I volunteered to speak.
When I volunteered my speaking services, it was like something came out of me that I instantly wanted to pull back. I had never preached before, never lead a Bible study, and never taught anyone about the Bible. But in the moment, it came out, and it was too late to pull back, Butch loved the idea. A few months later, I prepared nervously for our first service, not knowing what to expect. I set the room up for the service, and went over my notes. By the time the service was ready to start there in front of me was roughly 120 students and young adults. And so here I am, a 23 year old with no formal Biblical training, no experience teaching or preaching, and as far as I was concerned no right to be telling these kids about God. But in that moment, God spoke through me, in that moment, something felt right. It was as if I was made to teach the Bible, that it was finally a round peg going into a round hole.
The more I preached the more I realized this was my calling in life. I may have thought it was leading worship, or being a music teacher, but the fact of the matter was, I was a pastor, and I could not run from it. A few years later, I completed my Masters of Biblical Theology from Liberty Theological Seminary. Since then, I have had the privilege of speaking at numerous churches across South Jersey, and look forward to more opportunities going forward.
In April of 2011, my wife Gina and I, following the call of God, began planting Authentic Church. We are so excited to see what God is going to do in and through this church in the coming years. Currently, we live in Egg Harbor Township, with old 2 year-old son Caleb, and we are expecting our second little dude in September.