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Jason Earls became pastor of North Garland Baptist Fellowship in December 2022, but he has long been involved at the church. He served as its youth pastor from 2011-2016 before stepping down to pursue a full-time career in stand-up Christian comedy, a passion he continues to pursue part-time. Born and raised in Portsmouth, Va., and the son and grandson of pastors, Earls came to the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex to attend Dallas Theological Seminary and stayed. He and his wife, Terri, have six children: Aaron, Alexandria, Alicia, Andrew, Achim, and Aniyah—as Earls quips, his “first time making straight A’s.”
What’s something you’ve been able to celebrate at North Garland recently?
The number of individuals who have joined the kingdom by placing their faith in Christ. We’ve gotten to the point where we’ve had to renovate, turn our fellowship hall into our sanctuary to accommodate the amount of growth. We’ve had people coming to the Lord … getting baptized, going public with their faith, and an overwhelming amount of young children. Families with multiple children are joining.
What are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced in your ministry lately?
The beautiful thing about NGBF is that we have six generations very well represented. For the first time in [modern] human history, we have six living generations: the silent generation, the baby boomers, Gen X, the millennials, Gen Z, and Gen Alpha. To be able to unify and show value to every generation has been consistently challenging. … [I want us to] no longer look at generational leadership as a relay race where a baton is handed but … as a Tour de France, where everybody has an integral part on this bicycle team. In a Tour de France, different people lead in different things, in different segments, in different parts of the race.
What’s one lesson you’ve learned to this point of your ministry you know you’ll never forget?
The more biblical knowledge, experience, and wisdom we get, the more we have the propensity to lean into our own understanding. When God gives you vision, you and your own understanding may hijack the vision God wants you to implement in His timing. It’s important to achieve the balance of using the experience and wisdom God has allowed you and that of those around you.
What is something you’d like to see happen at North Garland this year?
For every individual to be so engaged with God’s Word and discipleship that we, as a church and as individuals in our own unique giftedness, are impacting Garland and the entire globe. God didn’t give everybody everything, but He gave everybody something and He wants you to use it in something to make His name known and to build His kingdom. If I could get everybody to understand what their something is and to use it for God’s kingdom, I could go be with Jesus.
How can the churches of the SBTC be praying for you?
Pray that this pastor and comedian stays faithful to his wife and children first, and that God allows Jason and every member of North Garland to be overwhelmed with the love of Jesus and His Word and a passion for the lost.
