Pastor Profile: Johnteris Tate

Church: Mt. Moriah Missionary Baptist Church

How Long at church: 5 years

Hometown: Memphis

Family: Divorced, One daughter

Congratulations on your fifth year anniversary at Mt. Moriah. What were the goals when you first came to the church and are you on track with them?

Seeing five years later the impact that the church really has and needs in Los Angeles is amazing to me. We have a long way to go but we are moving forward, but the biggest thing is there is a major transition throughout the body of Christ and most definitely in Los Angeles. In order to have stronger churches, we must become unified and work together. In this season, we need each other.

Where do you see your role?

In the bridging of the gap–having been that young person who takes on a historic, major church and keeps it afloat. I think that I was probably the first young guy (in a long time) to come in and take on a great church. After that it was a continuous flow. You see everybody transitioning and giving younger guys an opportunity at great churches.

Given your age, are you making an impact with youth? With every generation comes an impact on somebody, but with Los Angeles, you don’t have a lot of young people my age in churches for the most part. You have to literally go find them and church them and see in what area the church can connect with them.

What area is that for you?

I think one of the greatest problems that we have in church is that this generation feels left out, unheard and possibly unwanted, so what will connect us more is a listening ear. We have to be able to listen and hear what it is that they’re saying because there are so many issues…so many needs.

Was L.A. what you thought it would be for ministry and how have you evolved as a pastor?

I thought it was more church–that people went to church all the time, and of course that wasn’t the case, but I believe that L.A. has grown me up to be a man. Not just a pastor, but a man, because you have to be a strong individual to lead in a town like Los Angeles and by following two strong men, it made a strong man. And I believe when you become a strong man, you can become a strong leader and a great pastor. Now, one of the things COVID taught me is that all of this can be gone tomorrow. Everything can be shut down. Everybody can be turned away. One of the most pow erful things that could have ever happened to me is leading a church through something that no other pastor in the history of that church has had to lead people through. We didn’t crash. We didn’t’ go under. But the Lord’s grace was upon our church and al lowed us to make a comeback and we’re com ing back strong.

When did you start preaching and what did you know to preach about?

I started preaching at the age of nine. I’m unlike most pastors these days that have a father or grandfather, uncle or cousin who is a pastor. I’m a first generation preacher and at the age of nine I felt a strong pull, because my Grandmother kept me in church and I just felt a strong pull of God pushing me to preach his word. I always loved church– loved to be around pastors and preachers.

Was it hard to grow up a “church boy” in a society where there is so much negative imaging?

I got called “Church Boy”, but it helped because everyone knew me. I was always speaking at programs and at the majority of everyone’ s church and it was a kind of a fun thing for me. They weren’t picking on me or looking at me like, “Aw he’s too good.” No, in fact I was kind of a trendsetter. I would wear slacks and sweaters and dress shirts to school, and it got to the point where the principals and administration said we’re going to have dress up day at school once a week. Did a lot of people think of you as an old soul and what do you feel about that?

I do get that a lot. I tell people all the time, that’s my thing! I’m an old school preacher with a new school flavor.

Was there much thought given to the fact that you were so young being called to an older more established church?

Actually, I wasn’t intimidated. I know how to love on the older saints as well as the younger ones. You can’t just try to bring in all the young and forget about the stability and foundation.

I’m sure you had a great many offers to pastor other churches, how did come to choose Mt. Moriah?

I’ve always had someone in my corner saying, “Hey I’ve got this young man, ‘Your people will enjoy him.” As to Mt. Moriah, there were a couple of senior pastors–Bishop Rudolph McKissick and Pastor Jamal Bryant–behind the scenes who recommended me to Dr. Wade.

Mt. Moriah is not your first church–you got your start in Memphis…

The church I pastored in Memphis was the First Apollonian Baptist Church, and I was there five years, starting at the age of seventeen. When I started with that church there were probably about twenty members, and the Lord allowed it to grow so when I left, the church had maybe 300 members on roll. It was a good growing experience for me, to teach me how to love people and to master pastoral duties. It wasn’t anywhere near the size of Mt. Moriah, but it was a great church with a great spirit, and it was an incredible and rewarding journey.

What did you learn about yourself in the process?

I learned patience. Being young you think because you’re young and ambitious with all the enthusiasm and energy, that everything should come fast. But if anything, church has taught me to be patient–that throughout ministry, you don’t want swelling, you want growth. That you don’t want things in life to come too fast, because like my Grandmother says, if you can get it fast you can lose it fast. So, growth comes from patience. Patience has taught me how to be slow to speak, slow to get angry, and slow to listen.

What can we expect to see from Mt. Moriah in the next five years?

Mt. Moriah is up to some great things. We have some plans in place for renovations and we’ve already upgraded a lot around the church. You’ll also see more activity in the community–more job fairs, more college fairs. I can’t even tell it all. It can’t be explained. It can only be experienced, but one of the biggest things we’re trying to make our church about is family. Mt. Moriah for 76 years (going on 77) has been built around strong, healthy families so we’re bringing family back.

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