by Hannah Packard

On May 29, 2025, The Christian and Missionary Alliance (C&MA) elected Dr. Jonathan G. Schaeffer as its thirteenth president. Jonathan is the first C&MA president elected since 1924 to transfer directly into the role from the pastorate, having served as the lead pastor of Grace Church in Middleburg Heights, Ohio, for just over 27 years. Jonathan has also served as a member of the Board of Directors of the C&MA, as the corporate vice president, and as a member of the President’s Cabinet.

In late June, a month after the election, Jonathan and I sat down for a virtual interview.

Would you introduce yourself to the Alliance family?

Yes, absolutely. I am number six out of nine children, and I was born into a family that was rooted in Jesus; my mom and dad developed a culture of talking to Jesus about anything. But I had to come to this place of desperate need for His grace, to enter a relationship with Him and be adopted into His family. That happened in elementary school when I was confronted with the tragic drowning of a friend.

My wife, Mary’s, story started off differently. She was raised in a family that experiences a lot of substance abuse, upheaval, and divorce. Her moment of desperate need for Jesus came just before her sophomore year in university, when a girl in her hall invited her to be part of a Bible study. Mary and I love serving together, and I have great admiration for her. She has been a huge part of shaping my journey with Jesus. One of my greatest joys in life is getting to do life with her and following Jesus with her.

As for how we both got involved in The Alliance, Mary began attending an Alliance church that was less than a mile from her college campus. And for me, my family left a mainline denomination shortly before I was born, and my dad became an Alliance pastor. Mary and I met in college, and after we got married, we headed off to Nyack and attended Alliance Theological Seminary. We pastored a church there and then in New Jersey and ended up coming back to the church where I grew up, Grace Church, and have loved serving there.

I’ve also had the opportunity to do some other ministry ventures traveling to various Alliance churches, districts, and numerous countries overseas to get to see all the different ways that Alliance people are showing the grace of Jesus and expressing His love in word and deed. I also served as corporate vice president and as a Board Member, so that has been a neat opportunity to see the broader Alliance family in motion.

Mary and I have five adult kids, and we love hanging out with them and their families. They live in five different states, and so we tend to hang out at either a beach or a national park. We all love time outdoors, hiking, hanging out together, and being active.

What is the story of how God called you to consider the role of president?

I had been asked a couple of times previously to consider being nominated. In those times, I felt that the answer from the Lord was no—He had me where He wanted me for that time. But in May 2023, I was in a prayer time. We were invited to allow Jesus to speak into that moment of quiet, and I sensed the Lord saying, Jonathan, are you willing to go wherever I lead you and Mary, even if it means leaving Grace Church? It was a shock to me. I said, Lord, I would say yes to You; I’m willing to go wherever You call me. But what would that involve? And He began to lead my heart and mind to think about the role that I’d been asked about year ago. I said, Lord, if I’m approached about that, I will trust You for the answer.

About a year later, I was approached by a couple of people about being nominated for the role, and my heart was already prepared. God, in time, also began to speak through people that had no idea what I was praying about privately. He has been answering Mary’s and my prayers on a couple of fronts, confirming through people, and also preparing our church family in a way that they feel this is part of their mission to send out Mary and me for global impact. That’s been very encouraging for us in these recent weeks.

What have you sensed God saying to you as you prepare to step into this new role?

Often when we’re called to step into a new role, we can have this sense of inadequacy. I felt equipped for a previous role—but this new role, Lord, You’re leading me into territory that is calling for new levels of faith. I’ve sensed the Lord speaking to me about the kind of leader He wanted me to be. There are a couple of verses that He continues to bring to the forefront of my mind. One is Matthew 11:29, where Jesus describes Himself with these character traits: “I am gentle and humble in heart.” So I am praying, Lord Jesus, would You give me a heart like Yours? Would you help me to be humble and gentle in my leadership role in a way that would invite others into the mission and to follow You? I think part of being humble is receiving wisdom and counsel from others, collaborating with others on the mission.

The other verse that He continues to bring to mind is Psalm 78:72, where it talks about King David: “David shepherded them with integrity of heart; with skillful hands he led them.” I am praying, Lord, would You help me do that? As You call me into something new, would You let me lead with integrity, that I would be transparent and humble and holy? And would You let me lead with skillful hands, equipping me for the task and putting other people in the correct roles so we can lock arms together as we go after the mission?

We have a lot of godly, humble, wise, gracious leaders in The Alliance, and my heart is to be one of them, to say, “Let’s go after Jesus together and trust that He’s going to give us the strategies to fulfill the mission to which He’s called us.”

What do you feel that God is saying to The Alliance at this moment?

In the big picture, we’re living in a season that’s been marked by anxiety, confusion, and polarization. Cultural observers are expressing great concern, I think with good reason. In my time with Jesus this morning, I was reading in Romans 15 where the Apostle Paul says, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Rom. 15:13). I love that the Holy Spirit enables us to overflow with hope. We don’t grieve as those who have no hope (1 Thess. 4:13). We were born into a living hope (1 Pet. 1:3). This is what I’m sensing right now that the Lord is saying to me and to The Alliance—we ought to be people who are overflowing with hope. In a cultural moment of anxiety and confusion, that is one of the gifts we have to offer the world—the hope that only Jesus can give. Whether it’s in our local community—finding ways to communicate hope to our neighbors, colleagues, classmates, and the people we meet—or globally, God is calling us to take this hope to people in every culture, especially to people who have never heard.

This is the biblical kind of hope that’s a deep assurance, a sense of faith-filled trust that Jesus is writing a good story, and we get to be a part of it as His family. At this moment, that’s what I’m praying for myself and for our Alliance family.

The Alliance is a unique denomination, as equally dedicated to planting and sustaining churches in the United States as we are to sending and sustaining gospel presence throughout the world. What are your hopes for each of these pieces of our movement, Christian and Missionary?

It can be easy to be one or the other. But we share the same vision wherever we are, as we’re stating it today, All of Jesus for All the World. In the official mission statement of The Alliance, we say, “The C&MA is committed to knowing Jesus Christ as Savior, Sanctifier, Healer, and Coming King, and to completing the Great Commission.” Wherever God has places us, we get to be part of this.

We didn’t create the mission, we inherited it from Jesus. He’s the One who told us over and over, “Go and make disciples of all nations, preach the gospel to all peoples, you’re going to be My witnesses here, there, and everywhere.” But how do we accomplish it? That’s one of the exciting adventures for us, discovering how we can work together and say, even in the midst of the noise, “Let’s unite our hearts again.” In my time with Jesus this morning, I also noted that it says, “With one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom. 15:6). For The Alliance, as we continue on mission following some tensions in our denomination, can we once again say, “Here’s the mission before us. Let’s go after it with resolve, with devotion, with trust in Jesus that He will lead and empower us for the mission to which He’s called us.”

You are the first president in 100 years that has been elected into the role directly from pastoring a church. Do you think that has shaped your perspective as you step into the next season?

Those who have gone before me have had pastoral hearts. I think going into it directly from leading a church family may give a focus on the shepherding aspect of the role, caring for the souls of people. I want to help shepherd not only a movement but the souls of people who are leading, serving in churches and different subsidiaries, ad those ministering overseas in a variety of contexts. My prayer is, Lord Jesus, would You help me to be one who prays for them, who leads by example, who walks with humility? I think I’ll always have the heart of a shepherd. My last name, Schaeffer, actually means “shepherd” in German. So, my full name is essentially Jonathan Goforth Shephers. And I want to live into that name.

Sometimes when people ask me, “How are you doing, Jonathan?” I want to respond with the phrase from 2 Corinthians 6:10, “Our hearts ache, but we always have joy” (NLT). My heart aches as I walk with people, as I do the funeral of a 21-year-old or watch someone going through a situation with a child with a disability, or whatever it may be. But we can always have joy because ultimately, Jesus is on the throne, and He’s writing a good story. I think in leading our denomination, it will be very much the same. My heart will ache, but I’ll always have joy that Jesus writes the final chapter.

“I have a suspicion that your pastoral heart is going to be a great blessing to the Alliance family,” I say to Jonathan.

Later, as I review the transcript from this interview, I smile as I notice the prayers our new president has woven into every answer. I think about how the Lord can use that posture to deepen the culture of prayer in The Alliance, to encourage us to “talk to Jesus about anything” and trust Him with everything. It makes me hopeful.

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