Jason Ellis

At 18, I felt a calling to ministry and I preached my first sermon in the denomination I was raised in, the American Baptist Association.  Shortly afterward, I migrated to the United Pentecostal Church and was heavily involved in various aspects of ministry for 15 years.  Following years of detailed study of the Bible, I left the Pentecostalism.  In the years afterward, I engaged in extensive reading and study and reevaluated my faith.  Eventually, I found a home in the Disciples of Christ and, in 2019, I became a commissioned minister and began working as Minister of Visitation at Central Christian Church in Texarkana.  In August of 2021, I was called to be the pastor of Antioch.

Many times in my life I have prayed the simple prayer that God use me to minister to others.  It's my most sincere desire that God work through me to bring others to a more meaningful faith and to help them along their faith journeys.  Sometimes a kind word or action can completely change a person's day or week, and occasionally it can change a life.  My faith, to put it simply, is love of God and service to others.

Themes in my ministry include the following three concepts:

• God is Love
• Love God
• Love your neighbor

God is loving and forgiving.  We should reflect that love back to God and to our neighbors, and our neighbors happen to be anyone and everyone around us.

The world been brought together by technology, which makes everyone in the world our neighbors in some sense.  However, the world is broken and divided.  We see racial division, religious and cultural division, and political division.  The role of the Christian is to be a peacemaker.  Jesus said that peacemakers are blessed and will be called the children of God.  He provides a way for us to not only have peace with God, but also to have peace with each other.  The mission of the church, and my mission, is to share that peace.  We may not agree with others or completely understand those we disagree with, but we can still love them, treat them fairly, help them when they are in need, and advocate for them when they don't have a voice.  That's our calling as disciples of Jesus!

I welcome you to join us in service to God and to each other.  Wherever you are in your personal journey of faith, you are invited worship with us.

May God bless you!

Jason Ellis

Pastor, Antioch Christian Church