Christianity Today has hired Atlanta-based author, preacher, and entrepreneur John Onwuchekwa as director of leadership resources. In this role, Onwuchekwa will cast a broader vision to engage and equip pastors and other church leaders in new ways. He will also lead the continual development of content and strategy for CT’s existing church resources, which include influential brands such as Church Law & Tax, PreachingToday.com, and SmallGroups.com. He joined the company on April 24.
Before joining CT, Onwuchekwa compiled a busy and wide-ranging résumé. A graduate of Dallas Theological Seminary, he was one of the founding pastors of Cornerstone Church, as well as cofounder of Portrait Coffee—both in the Historic West End of Atlanta. (“I started the coffee business to empower people in a community that was an opportunity desert,” he says.) The industrious preacher also served as the codirector for content and coaching for the Crete Collective, an organization aimed at strengthening gospel works in distressed and neglected Black and brown communities. He is the author of Prayer: How Praying Together Shapes the Church and We Go On: Finding Purpose in All of Life’s Sorrows and Joys.
“John Onwuchekwa is one of the strongest Christian leaders in America today,” says CT editor-in-chief Russell Moore. “His grounding in Christ and the Scriptures combined with his astounding combination of gifts in preaching, teaching, mission, justice, church leadership, entrepreneurship, and mentoring make him the perfect choice to lead CT Resources into a new future. John is widely respected and widely loved. I am excited to work with John and am elated to have him on our team.”
CT’s editorial chief of staff Joy Allmond adds, “The addition of John to our staff is going to transform the ways we serve the church and its leaders. Along with the many gifts he brings to the table, John’s pastor’s heart and entrepreneurial spirit bring unique and powerful value to CT. It’s going to be exciting to watch how his perspective and experiences inform the vision for CT’s resources ministry.”
Onwuchekwa, the American-born son of Nigerian immigrants, calls himself “a deeply committed storyteller” whose preaching, writing, and entrepreneurship are designed to uplift the often-forgotten lives of those living in society’s margins. He views the call to CT as an exciting next step in his ministry journey.
“I was gripped by [CT president and CEO] Timothy Dalrymple’s vision to elevate the sages and storytellers of the global church,” Onwuchekwa says. “I left pastoring after 16 years because I sensed a vague call to spend more time creating resources and telling stories to that end. I’m excited about creating resources that center the concerns, stories, and even faces of people that have been marginalized for so long—especially in a world where Christianity is becoming increasingly marginalized. There’s a wealth of wisdom to be learned by centering the concerns and lessons of those who have had to lead from the margins for so long. I’m excited to make that work central to what I do and even more central to Christianity Today.”
Onwuchekwa will continue to reside in Atlanta, where he lives with his wife, Shawndra, and their daughter, Ava.
Christianity Today was founded by Billy Graham in 1956. In the nearly 70 years since that time, it has served as a flagship publication for the American evangelical movement, serving the church with news, commentary, and resources. An acclaimed and award-winning media ministry, CT elevates the storytellers and sages of the global church. Each month, across a variety of digital and print media, the ministry carries the most important stories and ideas of the kingdom of God to over 4.5 million people all around the planet.
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