Jonathan “Jon” Gerling is the new pastor at the Ironton First Church of the Nazarene. He replaces the Rev. Henry Shelly, who is now the pastor at a church in Bernie.
“We have been friends with the Shellys for nearly 24 years,” Rev. Gerling said. “We went to Bible College together.”
Gerling entered the Nazarene Bible College in Colorado Springs, CO when we was 28, a latecomer to the ministry.
“I’ve been in the ministry over 20 years,” he explained, “but I grew up on a farm and I originally talked about taking over my dad’s farm between Washington and New Haven, MO.”
Although there are no other ministers in his family (he is the first), he is a third-generation member of the Church of the Nazarene.
“My grandparents on both sides are Nazarene, my parents are Nazarene, and we all went to the Nazarene Church in Union, MO our whole lives,” he said.
He had a good job when God intervened.