Jonathan Daugherty, NPBC student, deserves our congratulations for his new role as Youth Pastor of Wapato Valley Church, in Gaston, Oregon. Pastor Jonathan is pursuing the Associate of Christian Ministry degree at NPBC, with a focus in youth ministry. He has a heart for missions, both local and global - in fact, he and his wife Kendra just returned from a mission trip to India. We are very excited for him as he steps into this new role of ministry! He has come full circle, back to the same church where he attended youth group as a high school student.

What Pastor Jonathan is most looking forward to as Youth Pastor is working his wife Kendra in teaching, mentoring, and getting to know the youth at Wapato Valley Church. He desires to equip and raise up young people in Jesus, who can go out and make disciples of Jesus Christ in Gaston and the surrounding communities. Through this experience he hopes to grow closer to Jesus, to grow in discernment, wisdom, administrative abilities, and to learn more about the inner workings of a church. 

He says that the classes at NPBC help him to know the history and theology to teach young people about how Jesus and the Bible are relevant to today. They have already helped him tremendously in his own understanding and he wants to communicate that to the youth.

"I believe that being a Pastor teaches you how facilitate groups of people in a Godly way. It is not just about the Sunday sermon or going to the hospital when someone is sick. It is about the relationship - equipping people to grow in Christ, who then go out and multiply the church. This means bringing someone to Jesus and helping them grow in Christ, and equipping those people to continue the process with new people. We are called to love our neighbors and to share the gospel with all the nations. Wherever my wife Kendra and I go, we want to make sure that there is someone leading someone else to grow in Jesus." -- Pastor Jonathan Daugherty