Team

The Rev. John Mars, senior pastor at Central United Protestant Church, is dedicated to working with others to advance the Kingdom of God. He says his life is all about relationships: his relationships with God, with his wife and family, and with the people with whom he serves. He sums up his approach to ministry in three adages:

1. People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.

2. Trust God like it all depends on God, and work like it all depends on you.

3. Always endeavor to create a bastion of moderate Christianity in the sea of extremism in which we live.

Prior to coming to Central Church in July 2021, Pastor John served as pastor in United Methodist churches in Idaho, Oregon, and Mississippi since 1991 and as pastor for eight years in Southern Baptist churches in Mississippi.

The son of a Navy officer, Pastor John spent his childhood at various bases in Florida, California, and Cuba before his father retired to Mississippi. His formal education includes two master’s degrees in divinity – in pastoral care and counseling from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and in New Testament theology and Ethics from Memphis Cumberland Presbyterian Seminary. He also holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Southern Mississippi.