WHO IS JEFFREY HOLTON?
I am a beloved child of God. I am a husband to my beautiful wife Carrie and a father to my four awesome children Micaiah, Gabe, Simon and Berea. I am so thankful God, in his grace, has blessed me with my wonderful family.
My Story in A Nutshell
I grew up in the church but I did not always walk with Jesus. In my teenage years I walked away from the church. I lived a life outside of Christ until I was 21 years old. I was leaving a bar one evening and a man handed me a Bible tract and I took it. Something happened at that moment and I sensed God's voice and the Holy Spirit calling me to be a follower of Jesus Christ.
That evening I prayed to God for forgiveness and asked Jesus to be my Lord and Savior. From the moment I became a follower of Jesus, I had a hunger for God and His Word. I went out and bought a Bible immediately and I consumed as much of it as I could. Shortly thereafter I sensed God’s call for me to go to Bible College in California. I sold all my possessions and went out west and spent two years growing in my faith and understanding of God’s Word.
I graduated from Bible College in the early 90's and I have been blessed to have served inn full-time ministry for over 25 years. I served as a youth pastor at Fluvanna Community Church in Jamestown, NY from 1994 - 2001. I served as a Student and Children's Pastor at Church of the Cross in Fairview, PA from 2001 to 2007. I served as a solo the pastor for a small congregation in Spring Valley, WI from 2007 to 2014.
In October 2014 I left my position at the church in Spring Valley and I took some time off from the ministry and worked at a Walmart Distribution Center for 7 months. During this time God confirmed my call to full-time ministry and I began seeking opportunities the Lord brought my way.
In June of 2015 I moved to Bradenton, Florida and accepted the position as the Associate Pastor of Discipleship, Family Ministry and Pastoral Care at First Presbyterian Church. Almost immediately I saw there were many red flags with this church and in August of 2018, the Lord made it clear to me that I needed to leave First Presbyterian Church because of some activities happening in church leadership that was not honoring to Him. I do not believe God made a mistake in calling me to this church because shortly, thereafter God called me to bi-vocational ministry. in 2018 I began working work full-time at Bradenton Christian School and I also became the part-time campus pastor at West Bradenton Baptist Southside Campus. In 2022 I was was officially sponsored by the North American Missions Board (NAMB) as a Church re-planter through the Send Network. I am excited for what God is doing at Southside and I am prayerful that God will continue to do amazing things in this church. In November of 2022 I accepted the call to become the Executive Director at Anchor House Ministry at SeaPort Manatee in Palmetto, FL. This is a ministry to international seafarers and the SeaPort Manatee community. Our mission is to provide the spiritual, emotional, and physical needs of international seafarers and the SeaPort Manatee community. You can read more about our ministry here.
God is and has remains faithful.
Things I Like
I enjoy reading and teaching the Bible, writing, and listening to music. I enjoy a good cup of coffee (I emphasize good... No Folger's or Maxwell House for this guy) in the morning hours or with friends who enjoy a good cup of Joe as well.
Some of my favorite authors include Timothy Keller, C.S. Lewis, Jack Deere, N.T. Wright, Stephen King, Neil Gaiman, and Dean Koontz.
I appreciate a good movie and some of my favorites include The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, Star Wars, X-Men (well pretty much all the Marvel movies), That Thing Your Do, and generally a good romantic comedy.
I am a sponsored Church re-planter through SEND Network, an ordained Southern Baptist Pastor, a Conservative Congregational Christian Conference (4-C's) licensed minister, a certified Prepare/Enrich pre-marital counselor, a MLB and MiLB Spring Training chaplain, and a member of North American Maritime Ministries Association (NAMMA).
