Pastor Profile: John-Paul Foster

Church: Faithful Central Bible Church

How Long at church: Seven years in ministry

Hometown: London, England

Family: Married to wife Karmen, two children

When did you receive your call to ministry?

I didn't grow up in church, but when I was around 16 years old, I gave my life to Christ. I wrestled with it for a while because I needed to know that God was real. I believed he was real, but I’d been approached by Islam, Muslims, Mormons, you name it, and I just didn't feel God was there. Finally while playing basketball one day, I got invited to church. I didn't really want to go. I prayed the night before and said, ‘God, I'm going to go to church tomorrow. If I don't find you, then I'm done looking.’ I went to church the next day and my whole life was changed.

What happened that day in church that changed your life?

The people were overwhelmingly loving and kind and the way the pastor shared the message, I felt what I know now was the Holy Spirit. I didn't know anything about the gifts of the spirit, but they were evident when I decided to receive Christ.

I was wrestling with what to do because I wanted to be a surgeon, but I just really felt God pulling me towards ministry and I didn't know what that looked like. So, I started praying and a friend of mine said, ‘Have you ever heard of this school called Biola?’

I ended up going on a tour of the school. I was going to a dorm named Hope and these two ladies walked by as they were going to their dorm room and one of them came back in tears saying, ‘Listen, God told me to tell you that this is going to be the foundation of your ministry and he's going to use you to touch lives around the world.’

So, I ended up attending Biola and it was incredible how much I learned and grew. From there I went to Talbot (School of Theology) and ended up going to Christ Second Baptist Church in Long Beach with Pastor Welton Pleasant. He really helped me go from theology to practice. He told me that God is going to use me to prepare you for where you're going to go next. I never knew that it was going to be Faithful Central, but here I am.

How did you get to Faithful Central?

The Young Adult Ministry pastor resigned and someone reached out to me about speaking one day because they didn't have a speaker. I went to speak that day and they asked me if I could come back. Somehow, it got back to Bishop and he wanted to meet me. That's where everything changed.

Why do you think you were the right fit for Faithful Central or more to the point, what do you believe Bishop Ulmer saw in you?

Bishop told me he saw humility and commitment to God's word. He said he was watching me when I didn't know he was watching me and those are some of the things that really stood out to him. I think he also saw my loyalty, the fear I have for God and what is similar is my faithfulness to people and God's word. I don't bend when it comes to God's word and that's one thing I know about Bishop–he's going to stand on the truth of God's word. Also, the church is trying to reach that next generation and I have insight into how this generation communicates, how they see the Christian faith, the struggles they have in the world, the things that they're struggling with to understand.

What has been most helpful in preparing you for this role?

The bishop has described our bond like God knitted us together in the spirit. I call him pops and I get to talk to him every day. If I'm going through something, I can reach out to him. I'm blessed that I have that. Also I think my academics journey has helped and I also believe the opportunity to teach at the university level has shown me a lot.

Was there anything you needed to change?

Yes, the rhythm of how I do life because I'm a professor, I'm a husband, a father, a pastor and a friend. I have now been recalibrating my life to have a rhythm that's balanced and will allow me to do all these things well. I know a lot of people who go into ministry and end up losing their families over it. I have two young children. They mean the world to me, and this year I will be married for 14 years, that means everything to me.

What are you best at?

My spiritual gifts are teaching, leadership, and discernment. Those three things are evident in how I do ministry all the time.

How will Faithful Central change or evolve under your leadership?

We're a church that wants to build champions, which I absolutely love, but the method in which we do that can change. We just live in a different age where we have the younger generation receiving information at a different way so those methods will have to change.

What do you see that could present a challenge?

There's a challenge that faces every church and Christian organization. We're coming out of COVID and people's rhythms have changed. The body of Christ has gone through a lot the last two or three years politically, racially, and a lot of these things have impacted how this generation and the younger generation view the church. So, I think there has to be some healing, reconciliation and some truth that is revealed and spoken in order for them to grasp what Christianity actually is. There are economic challenges because people are still trying to get their feet under them coming out of COVID. You just have to be aware of those things and committed to the vision and mission of the church. The church also has to have a voice. We have to be involved in the community and deal with the real issues people are facing in life. The theology has to match what people are experiencing existentially.

How in style will you differ from Kenneth Ulmer?

We have like a 40 something year age gap and I'm able to speak the language of this generation. I know what the issues that the generation here now and that's coming up with facing. And the way I communicate the word. We're both teaching preachers, but we're different in how we do it.

What is the most important thing you learned from Kenneth Ulmer?

There’s so much, but the thing that continues to ring in my ears is to steward the favor of God. I know I'm not where I am because I'm the most talented person on earth, but I have received God's favor and I want to be able to steward that favor. Am I qualified? Yes, but there are other people just as qualified. That God has allowed me to step in as a senior pastor at Faithful Central, I don't take lightly. I don't feel like I've arrived. I didn't come to Faithful Central seven years ago to be the senior pastor. I came because of God called me.

What was your reaction when Bishop Ulmer said he wanted you to take over the church?

I was shocked because I know he knows men and women across the nation and could literally pick just about anyone he wanted to. So, it was probably one of

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