Meet Jon

Based in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, Jon balances family life, work as a tree surgeon and landscape gardener, and a growing ministry rooted in evangelism and chaplaincy. Alongside his Church Army training, Jon has been serving through local town chaplaincy initiatives, including Street Angels and prayer ministry, while also volunteering with the chaplaincy team at his local prison.

Together with his wife and two young children, Jon has spent the last three years prayerfully discerning what God’s calling on his life looks like, a journey that has steadily led him towards prison ministry and evangelism.

Although Jon grew up in a Christian family, his faith became personal during his early twenties after a period of questioning and exploration.

“I needed to decide for myself whether this was true,” Jon explains. “I started looking seriously at the evidence for the resurrection and who Jesus really was.”

What began as a search for answers soon became a deep conviction that the Gospel was true and life-changing.

“When I realised Jesus truly had died and risen again, everything changed. I felt relieved, but also aware that I needed to do something with that truth and share it with others.”

Not long afterwards, Jon experienced what he describes as a defining call from God while working outdoors.

“I remember asking God, ‘Is this really all there is?’ and feeling strongly that he was calling me into ministry.”

At first, Jon assumed that meant ordained ministry, but after stepping back from the discernment process for a time, he experienced another unexpected moment of clarity.

“One morning I woke up with the words ‘Church Army’ impressed very strongly on me,” he says. “I knew immediately it was from God.”

That moment marked the beginning of Jon’s journey with Church Army, where he quickly found his passion for evangelism recognised and nurtured.

During training, Jon discovered a growing sense of calling towards prison chaplaincy. After completing a placement alongside Church Army Evangelist and prison chaplain Paul Ogunyemi at HMP Stocken, Jon began volunteering at his local prison in Aylesbury.

There, he found himself drawn to walking alongside people in some of life’s darkest moments.

“I think people are often in a place of questioning what has gone wrong in their lives,” Jon reflects. “That creates openness to faith and to hearing about Jesus. It feels like being a light in the darkness.”

For Jon, prison ministry is deeply connected to hope, compassion, and the belief that nobody is beyond God’s grace.

“If God can forgive me, he can forgive anyone,” he says.

One particularly moving moment during his placement came when a prisoner overheard a conversation Jon and Paul were having about faith and decided to explore becoming a Christian after listening nearby.

“That was an amazing reminder that God is always at work,” Jon says.

Jon describes Church Army training as both practical and deeply formational, helping him grow not only in ministry skills but also in his relationship with God.

“What surprised me most was how tailored the training is to each person’s context,” he explains. “Everything we learn can immediately be put into practice.”

Alongside theological learning and mission training, Jon particularly values the reflective and spiritual elements of the course, which have helped him slow down, listen to God, and discern his calling more clearly.

He also speaks passionately about the Church Army community that has supported him throughout the journey.

“The relationships you build through training are incredibly important,” he says. “You realise you’re part of something much bigger, a family of people serving God together.”

Following Commissioning, Jon hopes to continue developing his work within prison chaplaincy, with the long-term goal of serving in a full-time prison chaplaincy role. His forthcoming licensing as a Church Army Evangelist will also allow him to take on greater responsibilities within prison ministry.

For Jon, Commissioning represents both the culmination of years of discernment and training, and the beginning of a lifelong ministry journey.

“It feels like a milestone,” he reflects. “A celebration of what God has done so far, but also the start of what comes next.”

As Jon prepares for Admitting and Commissioning, he asks supporters to pray for wisdom, balance, and guidance as he continues discerning future ministry opportunities, and for his family as they step into this new chapter alongside him.