John Mitchell, Pastor
Hi, this is Pastor John and I thought I would take this space to share a little about myself. As you can see in the picture to the right, God has blessed me with a wonderful wife and three incredible kids. I grew up in a Christian home and came to know Jesus as my personal savior at an early age. I graduated from college with a degree in Civil Engineering and have been working as a project manager for over 20 years. I am still working as a project manager, only on a part-time basis.
Even before college, I sensed God's call on my life. God cultivated my love for teaching His word while attending a Christian and Missionary Alliance Church in Silver Spring and I eventually started part time at Capital Bible Seminary in Lanham. After cramming the 3 year program into 10 years, I graduated Seminary in 2003 and in November 2004 was invited to become the pastor of New Life Community Church, the church I had been attending for 5 years. Since then it has been my privilege to serve Christ and his people as pastor at New Life Community Church. My passion is to serve God by equipping people for the work of the ministry and reaching out to those who are lost without Christ. As such, in my teaching I strive to share what God is teaching me in a way that takes the truths recorded centuries ago and shows their relevance for us today. I am especially excited about our Men with a Mission ministry which started in 2010. This ministry is structured after that used by Pastor Wally Webster of Mt. Airy Bible church. Through this ministry, men are encouraged to be in the word, memorize the word, share what God is doing in their lives, and apply all they learn to their home, work, and church life. It is an exciting ministry!
When it comes to recreational time, I enjoy spending time with my family and all of the regular things that entails (such as wrestling or playing board games after dinner), playing ball, going on family bike rides, hiking, etc. We have a couple of favorite bike routes that happen to also include a stop at Rita's Italian Ice or something like it. Like many parents in the area, I have spent several hours coaching youth sports and it looks like I am going to need to learn a little about soccer too! If I can squeeze out the time, I like to go bike riding, play basketball, jog, camp, hike and do just about anything outside. In 2007 I did my first "sprint" triathlon which was a lot of fun - I just need more time to train. My wife, Missy, is a wonderful helpmate. She keeps me straight and helps with a lot of the administrative items at church. She is a graduate of Baptist Bible College in PA and works with our Children's ministry. Missy also home schools our three boys, Caleb, Nathan (Nate) and Stephen (Steve).
I hope this helps you get to know me just a little. If you have the chance, please come and visit with us at New Life Community Church, I would love to meet you.
