“But at the right time, God’s going to take me to the mountain he has for me to keep his kingdom moving forth,” he said. “So hang in there with the new leader. Support him. Love him just as you did your founder. Thank you for loving me.”
Jonathan joined his father on stage, where Evans gave his son Evans’ father’s Bible as a gift for the special day. Evans then stepped away and his “beloved friend” Dr. Martin Hawkins then came onstage to do the commissioning.
Hawkins turned the pulpit parallel to the congregation and stood behind it, facing Jonathan on the stage. The elders joined him as well to show that the process was not something “we take lightly,” said Hawkins.
“I’m going to read some things that have been planned by us. And you see the elders standing here have already agreed that this would happen,” Hawkins told the church. “So it’s not a one-person thing that he’s passing from a father to a son. It’s the elders saying that [Jonathan] has been approved of. That’s significant for us.”
Hawkins and the elders charged Jonathan from the words of 1 Corinthians 15:58 “to be steadfast, unmovable, and always abounding in the work of the Lord. For as much as you know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. Do not seek to be more successful but seek to be more sacred.”
Jonathan responded, “With God’s help, I will.”
Hawkins gave a number of other charges to the new lead pastor, including one from 2 Timothy 4:2. Another charge was for Jonathan not to take his family, his health, or his personal relationship with God for granted, while another urged him to give God his best.
Jonathan’s ministry is God’s work, not Jonathan’s, said Hawkins, no matter the praise or criticism Jonathan receives. “This is not about you,” Hawkins said, telling Jonathan that his gifts are to be used for God’s glory.
Hawkins reiterated that God has called Jonathan Evans to his position of leadership: “[Jonathan] isn’t here as a pastor of this church because he’s Pastor Evans’ son. He’s here because God appointed and anointed him specially for this job.”
