When Churches are Midways & Pastors are Barkers
Many churches are merely religious versions of carnival midways, and their pastors are the barkers. Learn to recognize it and discover the cure.
My mission is to help people and churches know, show, and share the gospel of Jesus. These three tenets define my ministry online and in the pulpit.
What do they mean? Put simply—
having a growing, personal relationship with Jesus
living out your faith in Jesus by serving others
proclaiming the good news about Jesus through evangelism
That’s the vision behind the content I create, including videos, articles, memes, and other media resources.
I hold a PhD in Evangelism and authored 1X Evangelism: A Kingdom Growth Strategy for the Local Church. I’m also a huge Buffalo Bills fan.
Born in Texas, I’m both a “military brat” and a “preacher’s kid”: my father is a retired US Air Force veteran and a pastor. As such, my sister and I were raised in various states and countries.
I gave my life to Christ in 1984 while living in Illinois. In 1993, during my first year of college, the idea of being in ministry first entered my mind, though I had other plans. Finally, at the age of 28, God called me to enter ministry, and I gladly surrendered to that call. I was then licensed to the ministry in 2002 and ordained in 2004 as a Southern Baptist minister at Judson Community Baptist Church in Longview, Texas. I entered seminary at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, in 2004, earning an MDivBL in Evangelism and Missions in 2007 and then my PhD in 2014.
I began preaching in 2002 and accepted my first pastorate in 2004. I continued pastoring for ten years, serving churches in Texas and Florida. In 2014, God transitioned my ministry from the pastorate to other areas, including serving in worship ministry, church marketing, and developing an online ministry consisting of my website, JohnRothra.com, and my YouTube channel.
In 2015, I published 1X Evangelism, and the following year I was the featured speaker at the “Ignite Houston” evangelism conference. It was also during this time in our lives that Olivia and I discovered that our son was special needs. As such, special needs ministry holds special place our hearts.
Because of my experience in churches of various sizes—ranging from small rural churches to large and megachurches—along with serving in different types of ministries, God gave me a unique appreciation for how individual ministries within a church interact and contribute to their church’s overall ministry. Today, my passion is to use all God has given him to help people and churches know, show, and share the gospel of Jesus.
