McCurley, Jonathan
Jonathan Daniel McCurley is a Global Missionary with the General Board of Global Ministries of The United Methodist Church, commissioned in October 2009 and assigned as a Youth Chaplain in Tochigi District with the United Church of Christ in Japan.
Jonathan is a candidate for elder’s orders in the Florida Annual Conference. He grew up in the Orlando area in the Ocoee Oaks United Methodist Church. “Although attending church from a very young age, it was not until high school that I accepted a relationship with God and the identity as a Christian,” he says. “Upon entering high school, I took a world-religions course that exposed me to various ideas about God, the good, and humanity. That experience pushed me to really seek what I myself believed about these things. On Palm Sunday of that year, I had an experience with the Holy Spirit. This led me to enter into a relationship with God through Christ, and this was the beginning of my walk as a Christian, being baptized soon after.”
Jonathan earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in music and international studies from Emory University, Atlanta in 2003, and a Master of Divinity degree from Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary, Evanston, Illinois in the spring of 2008. He worked in a Cokesbury bookstore while in seminary, served as a youth pastor, and taught english for a time after graduation. He plays piano and sings, and is fluent in English, Japanese, and French.
He is married to Satomi McCurley.
Jonathan was first introduced to the mission experience while taking part in a Volunteers-in-Mission trip to Mexico during college. “At the end of the trip, there was a time for prayer for those who wanted to commit their lives to serving God by serving others wherever God might call them,” he explains. “The greatest confirmation of my call to mission has been as I have learned about my spiritual gifts. My love of language has led me to study and live internationally and has inspired me to continue to learn so that I can communicate the Good News with more people.”