Jonathan Falwell


Jonathan Pate Falwell is the senior pastor at the Thomas Road Baptist Church in Lynchburg, Virginia.

Early life

He is the son and successor of the late Reverend Jerry Falwell and the brother of Liberty University Chancellor Jerry Falwell Jr. His older sister, Jeannie, is a surgeon. During a 1974 family discussion about abortion as the 'national sin' of America, Jonathan asked his father why he didn't do something about it, which was the start of his father's reading of other evangelical writers such as Francis Schaeffer on the issue. As a young adult and minister in his father's church, Jonathan invested in video processing technology and began overseeing the operations of the church ministry. Following the example of a pastor’s heart for people, Jonathan worked with his dad as the executive pastor of Thomas Road, and became pastor after his father passed away in 2007.

Career

After his father’s death in 2007, Jonathan was voted in by the deacon board of Thomas Road Baptist Church as the Senior Pastor. Since taking the role, the church has grown, and its influence in the community has expanded. Jonathan has been voted by local publications as one of the most influential people in the city multiple times. He has led the church to start multiple campuses, and created a church network to help equip pastors and plant churches. Under his leadership the church plants thousands of churches each year through the Liberty Church Network as well as partnerships with The Timothy Initiative.
He earned his Bachelor of Science degree from Liberty University in 1987, his Master of Arts degree in Religion from the Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary in 1996, and a Juris Doctor degree in 2005 from the Taft Law School in Santa Ana, California.

Personal life

Falwell and his wife, Shari, have four children: Jonathan Jr., Jessica, Natalie, and Nicholas. They reside in Lynchburg, Virginia.