Pastor during the Interim

The Reverend Jonathan L. Thomas

The Reverend Jonathan L. Thomas has pastored the Jerusalem Baptist Church (Jerusalem) during the interim, since February 1, 2007. Prior to becoming Jerusalem's pastor he was the Assistant to the Pastor and an Associate Minister: teaching Bible study, leading worship, preaching and baptizing. Before his call to pastoral ministry, he served as an ordained deacon, a Sunday school teacher, and the director of Jerusalem's Young Adult Ministry (YAM).

Pastor Thomas was formerly employed in the software industry, where he applied and developed his critical and creative thinking, leadership and management skills in high-tech companies across the United States and with leadership responsibilities for teams comprised of engineers from around the world.

Pastor Thomas earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mathematics from Colby College, in Waterville, ME. During his tenure at Colby, he served as the president of the Students of Black and Hispanic Unity (SOBHU) Organization, a tutor for the Computer Science department, and an intern for the MITRE Corporation, in Boston MA. In 2006 he received a Master of Divinity degree from The American Baptist Seminar of the West -- part of the Graduate Theological Union, in Berkeley, CA. While a graduate student there, he served for two years as the Student Council Technology Chair, providing technology assistance and training to both students and faculty; he received the Bellevue Heights Scholarship and was awarded The Graduate Theological Union's Master of Divinity Student award. Upon graduation he was awarded both the Clairborne M. Hill award for highest academic standing and the J. Alfred Smith, Sr. award for outstanding ministry in the Black Church. Currently, he is pursuing a Doctor of Ministry degree at San Francisco Theological Seminary.

Pastor Thomas believes that having been saved we are all called to do good works. After worshipping God on Sunday morning, we continue to worship God during the week, as we teach and evangelize through mission and ministry -- again, not to get saved, but because we've been saved -- that others too might come to experience and know the love of God and be empowered to go and do likewise!