July 30th, 2025
The Upward Look, by Jon Forrest
Called
I wrote the following article in July of 2017 as a testimony to you all about why I am in the Pastoral ministry. When I came to Clovis, I fully believed God wanted us to make a long-term difference here and to grow a dynamic, spirit lead congregation of Christ followers. I didn’t know we would surpass 25 years, but here we are. I hope, as you read this, you will get a sense of my passion for God, his calling, this church family and each of you. I’ll share something at the end.
As I stated this past Sunday in my message, I never intended to go into ministry. Being a "PK" (preacher's kid) or a "TO" (theological offspring) I was constantly asked if I would be a preacher someday, like my dad. Let me make this clear, many preachers would love to be as good in the pulpit as my dad. His sermons, combined with his delivery, combine charm with power. He can take the deepest subject and make it a succulent dessert for the simplest mind. There is an anointing in every message.
But I didn't want to be a preacher. I wanted to be a pilot when I was young, but, when I got older, I thought I would be a choir teacher (director). However, God just kept nudging me toward preaching even when I didn't know it. when I was in 4th grade, we had a revival meeting in our church and the guest evangelist began to talk about starting kids out early for ministry. Before I knew it, I was preaching a "junior sermon" at a Sunday night service. I thought it would go about 30 minutes, but I was done in about 2. But I still had no intention of becoming a minister.
Growing up in several parsonages did not seem to help. The parsonage was always next door to the church building so there was no separation between my dad's work and his home. If people couldn't find him at the office, they just came looking for him at the house. In those days, parsonages were old, shaking and plain. And the family rarely had money for anything extra. I remember lots of tuna casseroles, bologna sandwiches, chipped beef on toast (still a favorite of mine), salmon patties, and other poor people meals. My mom always made it taste good, but we lived daily life on a shoestring. When my parents had health issues and hospitalizations there was no health insurance and the bills caused my father to seek alternative ways to bring in additional income to pay the bills. To top it off, the church was our life. And the truth is that was my favorite part. I do remember many fellowship times and the opportunities to sing in church and sneak to the front of line for church dinners, unless my dad caught me and sent me to the back.
But I didn't think this was going to be my calling. When I was a Freshman in high school, I attended an inspiring week called High School Days at Dallas Christian College. A young youth minister named Tim Coop preached at the closing service and the Holy Spirit grabbed my heart. I went forward at the decision time and dedicated my life to some kind of specialized Christian Service. I didn't think it would be preaching, pastoral ministry, but I committed myself to be open to where God would lead me. Honestly, I really thought it would be a professional Christian music ministry.
As I continued to resist, an opportunity arose my senior year of high school to attend a brand new private Christian school in Dallas, Texas called Heritage Christian Academy. It was on the campus of Dallas Christian College and I would live in a dormitory room. Besides the HCA teachers and students I also developed a relationship with DCC students and faculty. As DCC's High School Days approached, the Academy headmaster, Frank Sass approached me 30and two other upperclassmen to enter the preaching contest. I didn't want to do it, but Mr. Sass was a powerful presence and I found it impossible to tell him no. One reason I didn't want to preach publicly was because I was a terrible reader in public. Anytime I was asked to read aloud in school or Sunday School or anywhere, I stumbled through and felt embarrassed. But, as I prepared my sermon for the event, something amazing came over me. I began to read the text in my King James Bible with ease. It even had feeling. I began to be impassioned about the message I was going to preach. From where did this come? When the contest was over, to my great surprise, somehow, I won the contest. However, even before the winners were announced, I was already hooked. I knew God wanted me to preach because I knew I would not be satisfied without it. I needed to share the message of Christ with others.
In 1980 I graduated from Dallas Christian College with a degree in ministry and was ordained to the ministry by the elders of Southwest Christian Church in Fort Worth, Texas where I had served as part time youth minister for a year and one half. Preaching my ordination sermon was my father, Gilbert Forrest and giving the charge to ministry was Ronnie Hanna, Vice President of DCC.
Over the past 37 years God has led Cheryl, Shannon, Andrew and me to 6 different church families. There have been some great times and some very challenging times. There have been times I thought I would quit, but God always intervened with someone or some event to refresh my calling. On the fifth Sunday of July in the year 2000, we began our ministry on the New Mexico High Plains with First Christian Church of Clovis. The folks here welcomed us with open arms. They have been amazingly patient with me and have blessed my family and my ministry with unconditional abundant love.
This Sunday we begin our 18th year with this family. This is twice as long as our longest ministry and almost half of its entirety so far. We came to Clovis because we believed God was leading us here. He has never shown us he wanted us to be anyplace else. Thank you all for loving, encouraging, challenging, and trusting us to lead this amazing flock. I can't wait to see what God is going to do here next.
Thanks for the blessing you all shared with Cheryl, me and our family this past Sunday. You demonstrated your kindness and love for us beyond what could have deserved or expected. My message “A Thankful Pastor” shared my heart with you and you responded beyond my expectations. When I ended with the Big Question which was; “Will you join me as we continue our partnership in building God’s kingdom?” you surprised me with you applause. I’m assuming you gave God and me a profound “YES!” The plaque presented by The Women’s Council was precious. The cards from so many, gift cards from some and the cash gift from the congregation were all generous expressions of love and appreciation. The amazing dinner and turnout for that dinner touched our hearts. It was a wonderful time. We cannot say thank you enough times to equal our gratitude. God bless you all as we move forward with our King Jesus and his mission.
This Sunday we will share another message from our series Holy Stories with a message titled, Always Ready. This is one of Jesus’ more famed parables, the one about the Wise and Foolish Virgins taken from Matthew 25:1-13. I look forward to sharing this exciting and life challenging message of Christ with you.
Loving you all,
Jon
Called
I wrote the following article in July of 2017 as a testimony to you all about why I am in the Pastoral ministry. When I came to Clovis, I fully believed God wanted us to make a long-term difference here and to grow a dynamic, spirit lead congregation of Christ followers. I didn’t know we would surpass 25 years, but here we are. I hope, as you read this, you will get a sense of my passion for God, his calling, this church family and each of you. I’ll share something at the end.
As I stated this past Sunday in my message, I never intended to go into ministry. Being a "PK" (preacher's kid) or a "TO" (theological offspring) I was constantly asked if I would be a preacher someday, like my dad. Let me make this clear, many preachers would love to be as good in the pulpit as my dad. His sermons, combined with his delivery, combine charm with power. He can take the deepest subject and make it a succulent dessert for the simplest mind. There is an anointing in every message.
But I didn't want to be a preacher. I wanted to be a pilot when I was young, but, when I got older, I thought I would be a choir teacher (director). However, God just kept nudging me toward preaching even when I didn't know it. when I was in 4th grade, we had a revival meeting in our church and the guest evangelist began to talk about starting kids out early for ministry. Before I knew it, I was preaching a "junior sermon" at a Sunday night service. I thought it would go about 30 minutes, but I was done in about 2. But I still had no intention of becoming a minister.
Growing up in several parsonages did not seem to help. The parsonage was always next door to the church building so there was no separation between my dad's work and his home. If people couldn't find him at the office, they just came looking for him at the house. In those days, parsonages were old, shaking and plain. And the family rarely had money for anything extra. I remember lots of tuna casseroles, bologna sandwiches, chipped beef on toast (still a favorite of mine), salmon patties, and other poor people meals. My mom always made it taste good, but we lived daily life on a shoestring. When my parents had health issues and hospitalizations there was no health insurance and the bills caused my father to seek alternative ways to bring in additional income to pay the bills. To top it off, the church was our life. And the truth is that was my favorite part. I do remember many fellowship times and the opportunities to sing in church and sneak to the front of line for church dinners, unless my dad caught me and sent me to the back.
But I didn't think this was going to be my calling. When I was a Freshman in high school, I attended an inspiring week called High School Days at Dallas Christian College. A young youth minister named Tim Coop preached at the closing service and the Holy Spirit grabbed my heart. I went forward at the decision time and dedicated my life to some kind of specialized Christian Service. I didn't think it would be preaching, pastoral ministry, but I committed myself to be open to where God would lead me. Honestly, I really thought it would be a professional Christian music ministry.
As I continued to resist, an opportunity arose my senior year of high school to attend a brand new private Christian school in Dallas, Texas called Heritage Christian Academy. It was on the campus of Dallas Christian College and I would live in a dormitory room. Besides the HCA teachers and students I also developed a relationship with DCC students and faculty. As DCC's High School Days approached, the Academy headmaster, Frank Sass approached me 30and two other upperclassmen to enter the preaching contest. I didn't want to do it, but Mr. Sass was a powerful presence and I found it impossible to tell him no. One reason I didn't want to preach publicly was because I was a terrible reader in public. Anytime I was asked to read aloud in school or Sunday School or anywhere, I stumbled through and felt embarrassed. But, as I prepared my sermon for the event, something amazing came over me. I began to read the text in my King James Bible with ease. It even had feeling. I began to be impassioned about the message I was going to preach. From where did this come? When the contest was over, to my great surprise, somehow, I won the contest. However, even before the winners were announced, I was already hooked. I knew God wanted me to preach because I knew I would not be satisfied without it. I needed to share the message of Christ with others.
In 1980 I graduated from Dallas Christian College with a degree in ministry and was ordained to the ministry by the elders of Southwest Christian Church in Fort Worth, Texas where I had served as part time youth minister for a year and one half. Preaching my ordination sermon was my father, Gilbert Forrest and giving the charge to ministry was Ronnie Hanna, Vice President of DCC.
Over the past 37 years God has led Cheryl, Shannon, Andrew and me to 6 different church families. There have been some great times and some very challenging times. There have been times I thought I would quit, but God always intervened with someone or some event to refresh my calling. On the fifth Sunday of July in the year 2000, we began our ministry on the New Mexico High Plains with First Christian Church of Clovis. The folks here welcomed us with open arms. They have been amazingly patient with me and have blessed my family and my ministry with unconditional abundant love.
This Sunday we begin our 18th year with this family. This is twice as long as our longest ministry and almost half of its entirety so far. We came to Clovis because we believed God was leading us here. He has never shown us he wanted us to be anyplace else. Thank you all for loving, encouraging, challenging, and trusting us to lead this amazing flock. I can't wait to see what God is going to do here next.
Thanks for the blessing you all shared with Cheryl, me and our family this past Sunday. You demonstrated your kindness and love for us beyond what could have deserved or expected. My message “A Thankful Pastor” shared my heart with you and you responded beyond my expectations. When I ended with the Big Question which was; “Will you join me as we continue our partnership in building God’s kingdom?” you surprised me with you applause. I’m assuming you gave God and me a profound “YES!” The plaque presented by The Women’s Council was precious. The cards from so many, gift cards from some and the cash gift from the congregation were all generous expressions of love and appreciation. The amazing dinner and turnout for that dinner touched our hearts. It was a wonderful time. We cannot say thank you enough times to equal our gratitude. God bless you all as we move forward with our King Jesus and his mission.
This Sunday we will share another message from our series Holy Stories with a message titled, Always Ready. This is one of Jesus’ more famed parables, the one about the Wise and Foolish Virgins taken from Matthew 25:1-13. I look forward to sharing this exciting and life challenging message of Christ with you.
Loving you all,
Jon
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1 Comment
Very nice 'article'. Beautiful thoughts and feelings you shared!