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ONE39 Presents
Worship Leader
Presented to Expansion Church
The Story
"He was a child when he had that dream — but it carried the weight of assignment."
JONATHAN MONTGOMERY was not drawn to ministry — he was born into it before he had words to describe it. He grew up in Detroit, Michigan, where some of his earliest and most tender memories involve simple moments with his father — the ordinary kind of gift that shapes a boy's sense of being loved. Those moments did not last long. Shortly after, Jonathan discovered an old keyboard sitting in the basement. He did not wait for lessons. He sat down and taught himself to play.
It was in that early season that Jonathan had a dream — vivid enough that it still anchors his calling today. He saw himself playing at church while people came to the altar and laid down their burdens in the presence of God. That dream carried the weight of assignment. He grew up in the church, surrounded by people who poured into him both musically and spiritually.
Life tested those seeds before they could fully take root. Jonathan lost his father at a young age. Not long after, his mother became critically ill — and then, through prayer, God healed her. He watched her choose to trust God when the situation looked impossible. That season did not just build his faith — it became the foundation beneath everything else.
After high school, the bottom dropped out. He left football. He struggled through college. He was accepted to the police academy and walked away from it — not out of indifference, but out of fear and the gap between who he was and who God was calling him to be. He was wrestling. But inside of that furnace, he made a decision: to stop managing his faith from the outside and pursue God fully from within.
That same season brought him to 2016 and a young woman named Myangela. They built their relationship on prayer from the start. On their first date, Jonathan sold his keyboard to take her somewhere worth remembering. It was worth every key. In 2018, they married — and that same year, Jonathan released his first song and stepped formally into ministry. His story had become his assignment.
Leadership Profile
Builders are the rare combination of anointing and operation. They don't just hold the presence — they organize around it. Jonathan's fingerprints are on every team he has ever led: restructured rehearsals, cleaner systems, stronger participation. He didn't inherit those instincts from a job title. He built them by necessity — and they followed him into every room. He makes everyone around him come up to another level of excellence.
Pioneers go first. They don't wait for permission to build something new. Jonathan launched a business from zero to 423 clients. He stepped into a worship role at Detroit Church with nothing but effort and a willingness to create. His favorite phrase — "Can we figure this out?" — is not a question. It is a posture. He is not moved by the absence of a roadmap. He is activated by it. That is pioneer DNA, filtered through a pastoral heart.
Ministry & Leadership Experience
CURRENT
Fountain of Truth Church — Detroit, MI
PREVIOUS
Detroit Church — Detroit, MI
2019 – PRESENT
Junk Avengers Junk Removal Service
2014 – 2019
1-800-GOT-JUNK? & College Hunks Hauling Junk
Leadership Strengths
Assessment Insights
Anointing + Execution
Jonathan is not simply a gifted worship leader with good intentions. He is a man who has built things — operationally, relationally, and creatively. He built a business from zero to over 400 clients. He managed field crews, developed systems, and maintained both quality and culture under real pressure. He brings that same orientation into ministry. That combination is rare.
Transparent Testimony
Jonathan communicates with clarity, directness, and warmth. He has shared his personal testimony openly in ministry contexts — including things, as Pastor Mitchell notes, that most people would not share publicly. That kind of transparency is not recklessness. It is evidence of someone who has processed his story and owns it.
Formation Through the Furnace
Jonathan has not been sheltered from loss, failure, or pressure. He lost his father young. He watched his mother face death. He failed publicly — in college, in athletics, in the police academy. He navigated financial strain with a young family and a calling still finding its footing. He has not been hardened by any of it. What he has been is built. Both references describe him as positive, hardworking, dependable, and consistent. When he commits, he is fully committed. That is not a performance. That is formation.
Readiness Signal
He is not a support hire. He is a building hire.
Growth Edge #1
Jonathan can take on too much responsibility because he cares about things being done well. Any hiring organization should confirm that the role has clear enough structure to allow him to lead through others, not solely through his own output.
Growth Edge #2
His ministry transition discernment is actively growing. He acknowledges a past move made without full alignment for family and long-term calling. His approach to this candidacy is measured, prayer-dependent, and family-attentive — wisdom extracted from a costly experience.
Scale Consideration
His church contexts have been mid-size, community-anchored environments (200–300 in attendance). A placement into a significantly larger environment would require intentional onboarding. This is a transition to plan for — not a limitation.
Family
Jonathan has been married to Myangela — known as Mya — since 2018. Their relationship began in 2016 and was built on prayer from the first conversation. It was not built on chemistry alone. It was built on covenant.
Mya is a worship leader at her mother's church and a social media influencer on TikTok with over 100,000 followers, where she shares ministry content and encouragement that reaches beyond any local church. She is a woman of faith running her own lane.
At the same time, she is the full-time anchor of their home — managing the daily life of a household with four children under seven: Melody (6), Jonathan Jr. (5), Myla (4), and James (3). She is also the voice in Jonathan's life that holds him accountable to being present as a husband and father first. She does not compete with the calling — she guards the man who carries it.
Her view of this candidacy is grounded and honest. She trusts Jonathan. And more fundamentally, she trusts God. They have approached this decision together: through honest conversations, through prayer, and through a shared conviction that where God leads, He provides.
References
"John makes everyone around him come up to another level of excellence. He always understands the assignment and delivers. He never makes excuses."
Pastor Duasean Mitchell
Senior Pastor — 5 years of relationship
"He has the ear to hear things that even the music director sometimes misses. That is not a compliment about skill. That is a statement about contribution."
Andrew Ashford
Music Director & Ministry Colleague — 12+ years of relationship
"Loyal, dedicated, trend setter, leader. He inspires everyone around him to go higher — even me as a Pastor. When Jonathan commits, he is fully committed."
Pastor Duasean Mitchell
Senior Pastor — Additional Reference Testimony
"Jonathan trusts the team around him and uplifts others to be greater than they see themselves. His favorite phrase is 'can we figure this out?' — solution orientation baked into his vocabulary."
Andrew Ashford
Music Director — Ministry Colleague & Observer
"He is deeply in tune with the spirit of the house he serves in. He speaks to everyone he comes in contact with. He shows love to others. He is present for people — not just professionally, but personally."
Pastor Duasean Mitchell
Senior Pastor — Character Testimony
"He can program stems for the band, write songs, play keys, and still serve the collective vision without his gifts becoming a disruption. He is one of the hardest working men I have ever known."
Andrew Ashford
Music Director — Vocational Assessment
Formation
Cody High School | Detroit, Michigan · Ministry Formation at Fountain of Truth Church under Pastor Matthew Jones
Positioning
Desired
