Interview with Pat Jones
Tuesday, February 9, 2010 at 9:09AM 
Pat Jones. Photo by Matt Brown
Interview for THRiVE! by Nancy Carmichael
He likes to talk about “God sightings”.
He doesn’t want people to fall in love with The Church, but with Jesus, because as he puts it, “the Church already has a Husband”.
He’s not afraid to admit he cries at movies like “An American Tail”, and work phrases like “kindred spirit” (ala Anne of Green Gables) into a sermon.
He turned down the opportunity to preside as Bishop over a denomination, opting instead to heed the voice of God and wait for His unknown plans to be revealed…
He is Pat Jones, a man serious about following after the heart of God, and the answer to a whole lot of Western New Yorker’s prayers for a new Lead Pastor at Eastern Hills Wesleyan Church.
Formerly the Director of Healthy Church Ministries, an arm of the United Brethren in Christ Church headquartered in Huntington, Indiana, Pastor Pat stepped into his new role as Lead Pastor of Eastern Hills on Oct. 1st. He recently sat down with Thrive! for a candid talk about the faith journey that led him, his wife Pam, and son Justin to Western NY (they also have a daughter, Jalonna, who lives in Wisconsin).
Thrive! Mag: Well, let’s just get right to it. How’d you ever end up here in Buffalo?
Pat Jones: Actually, the short answer to that question, at first, was more like “Why shouldn’t I be here”… I had a pretty good list of reasons, beginning with the fact that I am not Wesleyan by background. I had a secure position among a great group of folks with the United Brethren in Christ, and I loved the people and community where we lived. In fact, my wife’s folks, who still live there in Fort Wayne, were a big consideration in the “why not” column.
TM: And yet, here you are. So how did you resolve your “why not” list?
PJ:Western NY was not even on our radar in Sept 2008, when I was approached to serve as Bishop of the UBC denomination. It would have made sense to say yes in so many ways, except… God was telling us that He had something else. He was asking us to wait on Him. So that’s what we did, we waited… for 10 months… and during that time, as doors of opportunity were presented, we knocked… and waited some more. It came down to three doors, all of which were very viable possibilities for ministry. As we prayed for wisdom, a list of criteria emerged, that ultimately guided us to what we believe was God’s choice.
TM: Criteria? Such as… ?
PJ: First, that my wife, Pam, and I needed to be in agreement. That was a no brainer. Also, what was of utmost importance to both of us was to be in a place with like-minded people spiritually. Timing was another issue. We really wanted to finish out my commitment as Director of Healthy Church Ministries, which required a pretty specific alignment in terms of stop and start dates. Like I said, Eastern Hills wasn’t even on our radar, but a “chance” meeting happened between my mother-in-law and the mother-in-law of the pastoral cearch committee chairperson… She ‘ran into her” and just “happened” to mention to my mom-in-law that her son-in- law’s church was looking for a pastor...
TM: … and the rest is history?
PJ: Well, that’s what got the ball rolling, anyway. From there, there were long interviews, a lot of prayer, and a candidate weekend, including a series of meetings with the whole congregation…
TM: … Who, no doubt were still feeling the loss of the Eastlacks, even while looking toward the future. That must have been intense. So let’s fast forward a little. Was there a moment when you “knew”?
PJ: I had just done filled the pulpit for the first service, Saturday night, and as I was leaving the sanctuary, the Spirit of God spoke directly and clearly to my heart, “I want you here”. That’s when I knew.
TM: And all the criteria on your list? Did it line up?
PJ: All of it, and then some. We truly feel we are among like minded people at Eastern Hills, but we are also finding “kindred spirits” in some wonderful pastors we’ve met so far all over this region. From what we can see, God is bringing together a group of church leaders who have a Kingdom mentality rather than a denominational mindset. Instead of all of these separate churches of the Buffalo region doing their own thing, we are seeing a movement of God that is breaking down barriers and building up of the Church of Buffalo. That is an exciting thing to be a part of!
TM:And the timing issue you mentioned?
PJ: My commitment with the UBC officially ended September 30th… My first day at Eastern Hills, if you remember, was...
TM: October 1st! Wow, talk about God lining things up perfectly!And how has the transition been to life as a Wesleyan? Does it feel like an “Extreme Church Makeover” to you?
PJ: To be honest, the Wesleyan denomination is very similar to the UBC, and in many ways both have been facing some parallel issues over the past few years, so again, it feels like God prepared us, and it was one more confirmation that we are where He wants us.