Ministerial Credentials and Ordination

John E. Hargrove is an ordained Christian minister with formal ecclesial recognition spanning two decades. He was licensed and ordained through World Ministry Fellowship (WMF), receiving license in 2005, with continued recognition and ordination in 2013. His ordination remained in good standing and was formally transferred in December 2025 to Source of Old Faith Church, Vidor, Texas, affirming continuity of ordained status and pastoral accountability.

These credentials authorize John to teach, preach, shepherd, administer sacraments, and serve in pastoral leadership consistent with evangelical and ecumenical Christian ministry traditions.

Formal Theological Education and Training

John completed structured theological coursework through Living Covenant Bible Institute (LCBI), directed by George and Robin Floyd. LCBI emphasized Scripture-centered instruction, covenant theology, and the practical application of biblical doctrine to discipleship and ministry.

Areas of study included:

Biblical theology and interpretation
Foundational Christian doctrine
Gospel-centered teaching
Discipleship formation and spiritual growth

In addition, John completed coursework associated with IIFBC counseling certification, providing training in:

Pastoral counseling fundamentals
Grief, trauma, and crisis care
Ethical pastoral practice
Integration of theology with lived human experience

Together, these studies provided a strong foundation for pastoral teaching, counseling, and spiritual leadership.

Twenty Years of Continuous Teaching and Community Ministry (2002–2022)

A central component of John Hargrove’s pastoral qualification is more than twenty years of continuous teaching and community-based ministry, conducted from March 2002 through March 2022.

This ministry consisted of:

Weekly Bible teaching and theological instruction
Discipleship and spiritual formation
Lay pastoral care and relational shepherding
Long-term accompaniment through grief, loss, marriage, baptism, and life transition

The ministry began in 2002 and was intentionally sustained for two decades, marked by periods of growth, long-term stability, and enduring relational impact. Its success was measured not by scale or institutional expansion, but by faithfulness, depth, and continuity.

This sustained ministry demonstrates pastoral endurance, consistency in teaching, and the capacity to shepherd a community over time.

Theological Focus and Original Study

In addition to formal coursework, John has undertaken extensive self-directed theological study and original teaching development. His work reflects long-term engagement with Scripture, doctrine, and theological synthesis.

Key areas of focus include:

Johannine theology, particularly themes of abiding, presence, incarnation, remembrance, and relationship with Christ
Foundational Christian doctrine, including grace versus legalism, salvation, baptism, the Trinity, and the nature of the Church
Biblical redemptive history, tracing God’s purposes from Creation through the Patriarchs, Exodus, Covenant, Christ, and the hope of God’s eternal kingdom
Discipleship and cultural discernment, engaging contemporary culture while maintaining Scripture as primary, authoritative, and explicit

This body of work reflects not only theological study, but original synthesis developed through long-term teaching, pastoral experience, and reflection.

Pastoral Character and Vocational Integration

John’s pastoral preparation is further evidenced by his character, vocational integrity, and life experience. His ministry reflects:

Doctrinal stability and theological seriousness
Emotional maturity shaped by grief, responsibility, and endurance
A pastoral posture oriented toward service, teaching, and care rather than institutional ambition
The ability to integrate theology with real-world leadership, suffering, and community life

His formation reflects a classical pastoral model shaped over time through faithfulness, accountability, and lived experience.

Overall Assessment

John E. Hargrove is well qualified for pastoral ministry based on:

Valid and continuous ordination and ministerial standing
Substantial formal theological education and counseling training
More than twenty years of faithful teaching and community ministry
Demonstrated theological depth, original study, and pastoral maturity
A proven capacity to shepherd, teach, and lead within a community context

His preparation represents a Scripture-rooted, community-focused, and long-term pastoral formation, consistent with historic Christian models of ministry.

John E. Hargrove

Engineer, Community Builder, Pastor, and Teacher

What I Do and Why

I’ve spent most of my professional life designing and building infrastructure—broadband networks, power-grid communications, microwave backhaul systems, and secure operational networks. For more than four decades, I’ve worked with utilities, cooperatives, municipalities, and rural communities. There was never a grand master plan. Opportunities appeared, needs were obvious, and I stepped into the work in front of me.

During the COVID years (2020–2022), I logged more than 3,900 hours of overtime helping launch and stabilize a rural wireless internet service provider in Southeast Texas. At its peak, we helped cover roughly 20,000 households. Families needed connectivity for school, work, and basic participation in modern life. I had the skills. So I showed up. That wasn’t heroism—it was responsibility.

Today, I serve as COO of Evergreen Technology Solutions, continuing to work on broadband and technology access in overlooked rural areas. I also serve on local boards—library and economic development—trying to help my hometown grow thoughtfully without losing its soul.

Alongside that work, I’ve spent decades leading Bible studies, teaching Scripture, and walking with people through grief, faith, doubt, and rebuilding.

Those two paths—engineering and ministry—have never been separate. They are expressions of the same calling: show up, build what matters, and stay present with people over time.

Pastoral Calling and Ordained Ministry

I am an ordained Christian minister, originally licensed and ordained through World Ministry Fellowship in 2005, with continued recognition and reaffirmation in 2013. My ordination remained in good standing and was formally transferred in December 2025 to Source of Old Faith Church in Vidor, Texas, affirming continuity of pastoral authority, accountability, and service.

That ordination reflects not a title I pursued, but a calling that emerged organically from lived ministry—teaching, shepherding, and walking with people through life’s hardest moments.

My theological training includes formal coursework through Living Covenant Bible Institute (LCBI), directed by George and Robin Floyd, with emphasis on:

Scripture-centered teaching
Covenant theology
Foundational Christian doctrine
Gospel-shaped discipleship

I also completed coursework associated with IIFBC counseling certification, focusing on pastoral counseling, grief care, trauma, spiritual formation, and ethical ministry practice.

That training was never academic for its own sake. It was preparation for real people, real suffering, and real communities.

Twenty Years of Teaching and Community Ministry (2002–2022)

In 2002, my wife Leisa and I lost our son, Joshua. He was eighteen—bright, kind, sincere. His death changed everything.

Grief reordered my priorities permanently. Advancement lost its appeal. Presence became essential.

In the months following Joshua’s death, we opened our home and began leading Bible studies—first for teenagers who had been part of Joshua’s life, then for a wider community. What began as a response to loss became a twenty-year ministry, running from March 2002 through March 2022.

For two decades, that ministry involved:

Weekly Bible teaching
Discipleship and theological formation
Pastoral care through grief, loss, marriage, baptism, and life transitions
Long-term relational shepherding rather than episodic engagement

The measure of that ministry was never size or visibility. It was faithfulness. People were baptized, married, restored, and supported through seasons that reshaped their lives. I learned how to teach Scripture patiently, how to listen deeply, and how to stay when walking away would have been easier.

That ministry formed me as a pastor far more than any title ever could.

Theology Shaped by Life, Not Abstraction

My theological work has always been rooted in Scripture and tested in lived experience. Over the years, I’ve developed and taught original studies addressing:

Johannine theology—abiding, presence, incarnation, remembrance
Grace versus legalism, salvation, baptism, and the Trinity
The redemptive arc of Scripture from Creation to New Creation
Discipleship and cultural discernment, keeping Scripture primary and explicit

Grief forced my theology out of abstraction. When you bury a child, easy answers stop working. What remains is what is true, durable, and faithful. That’s the theology I teach and live.

I often say that grief is just love with nowhere to go. Over time, that love found new direction—into people, into teaching, into communities that needed steady presence more than polished answers.

The Foundation That Holds Everything Together

None of this makes sense without Leisa. We’ve been married forty-five years. She has been steady when I’ve been scattered, faithful when I’ve been foolish, present when I’ve been absent. She is the backbone of every good thing I’ve managed to do.

My parents shaped me too. My father modeled integrity through quiet faithfulness. My mother wove creativity and faith into daily life. They taught me that showing up consistently—without applause—is how belief becomes real.

Joshua’s memory is woven through everything. I haven’t moved on from his death. I’ve moved forward with it. His absence sharpened my sense of what matters and stripped away anything that didn’t.

What Ties It All Together

Whether I’m building broadband infrastructure, serving on a community board, or teaching Scripture, the work points in the same direction: toward people.

I scatter myself too much sometimes. I take on more than I should. I’m still learning rest, limits, and trust. But the thread that runs through my life is simple: when something is broken and you have tools that might help, you try.

Small acts matter. Presence matters. Faithfulness over time matters.

That’s what I try to offer—as an engineer, a pastor, a teacher, a husband, and a father who learned the hard way what is worth building and what is worth keeping.