Deo volente, the Rt. Rev. Alex Cameron will ordain the Rev. Johnmark Smith to the Sacred Order of Priests on Thursday, September 28, 2023, at Church of the Redeemer, where he currently serves as deacon and youth pastor.
Your prayers and presence are requested.
Johnmark was born in the suburbs of Philadelphia, but grew up as a missionary kid in southeast Asia. While he initially begrudged being forced to move to a country that did not play, watch, or have a word for baseball in their language, his time in Indonesia became deeply formative in his life, instilling him with a love for Jesus and a deep appreciation for the different expressions of faith and culture. He attended Wheaton College as a Christian Formation and Ministry major. During his junior year, he met his future wife, Karisa, and they married since 2007. Karisa is a clinical psychologist at Vanderbilt University and together they have two middle school daughters, Tegan and Harper.
Since a young age, Johnmark has held a deep love for the church. As a second grader he collected baseball cards and church bulletins. During college, he experienced a call to vocational ministry and discovered the Anglican tradition for the first time. He has worked in ministry as a volunteer, in parachurch ministry, and on staff at a church. Currently, he serves as the youth pastor at Church of the Redeemer in Nashville, TN. When he’s not working, Johnmark’s favorite hobbies include spending time with his family, playing board games, going to the movies, and reading a good novel.