Today we’d like to introduce you to Jonathan Cisneros.
Hi Jonathan, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I am currently the Young Adults Pastor at Life Community Church. It wasn’t the plan but I am thankful that the Lord establishes our steps. He definitely knows what is best for us.
I have been at Life Community Church for about 8 1/2 years now. When I first arrived at Life Community Church, at 17 years of age, I was brought to play drums (Shoutout to Hector Esquivel). Here, I met Pastor Tyler Everett who convinced me to join the college program at our church. At the time, I wasn’t sure where I wanted to go and what I wanted to do. However, Pastor Tyler really helped me find my place and the rest is pretty much history. (Huge shoutout to Pastor Tyler who has been a spiritual Father to me. He is one of the biggest influences in my life. Forever thankful for him.)
Growing up in South Houston, Tx, you see a lot of different things. Some good, some not so good. Usually, people either stick around or try to go as far away as possible. And honestly, I have always found myself torn between the two. I come from a low-middle-class family. My parents have always worked extremely hard to provide us with what we need and to give us a little more than what we deserve, in my opinion. Growing up, we didn’t have flashy things but we had things and that was enough. As you would assume, growing up this way placed a desire in me to make as much money as possible and live a “great” life. To accomplish this, I did many different things. I worked at an insurance company a law firm, a pallet manufacturing company, and a bunch of small jobs in between. However, nothing ever really satisfied my heart until I began to pastor. The title did not bring fulfillment but doing exactly what the Lord had called me to do did!
All my life I have grown up in church. I have always been involved in ministry but never really expected to work at a church.
However, I can honestly say that becoming a pastor has genuinely filled my heart with joy. I have found a passion for seeing messed up, broken people find healing and love in Jesus. The reason I am so passionate about it is because I was this way. Though I grew up in a Christian home, my life has been full of mistakes and regrets, both my doing and things that were out of my control. However, God has always met me where I was and overwhelmed me with love and kindness. That’s something I pray I can reflect on others in everything I do.
Special thanks to Mario Duarte Jr, Joel Garcia, Salvador Arrona, Hector Esquivel, Pastor Alan Neel, Pastor Glen Harding, Pastor Brian Adleman, my aunt Martha Chavez, my uncle Allenby Flores and everyone else who has played a role in my life. If it was not because of you guys, I would not be pastoring right now. Especially my parents.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Absolutely NOT. If I am being completely honest, some seasons of life have been extremely painful to walk through. There have been many things that I have struggled with along the way but if there is one thing that I can say was the most difficult was overcoming the feeling of hopelessness. Regardless of what situation you have faced or will face, we will all find ourselves feeling as if we are at a dead-end at some point in our life.
I remember when I got the news that my grandpa had passed away. It was a week after my birthday. If I am being honest, at that time I was dealing with a lot. I was feeling pretty hopeless. I had just made a big transition in my life but was still feeling like I was not where I wanted to be. I was still finishing up school, working at a difficult job I wasn’t crazy about and was feeling pretty stagnant. So when I got that call that my grandpa had passed away, it just messed me up. I had never really dealt with depression but that phone call definitely jump-started the most difficult two years of my life. Not too long after that (about a week later) a few other areas of my life came crumbling down. I really didn’t understand why things were happening the way they were.
For the next two years, I battled a constant feeling of loneliness and heavy negative thoughts. It seemed as if every day was battlefield and I was just trying to survive. It seemed as if my past failures, regrets, and hurts tag-teamed with my present pain and just beat me up daily. I genuinely felt hopeless. I mean, what else are you supposed to feel when everything comes crashing down? When every safe place is compromised and everything you have ever found security in is no longer there, what do you do then?
Thankfully, I met Pastor Wally & Co. They encouraged me and walked with me through some deep hurts and deep pain that I had never really shared with anyone. Thank you to them and to Daniel Gonzales for loving me through it. The Lord used them to give me hope. A lot of the reason I was able to heal and do what I do today is because of them. There is hope, friend. If you are reading this, please know that there is hope and His name is Jesus. He really does comfort us in the best way. He’s our friend and He loves us. He will use others to help you understand that! Difficult seasons will come but know that you’re not alone!
Look at me, if He can use someone like me to share His love and bring hope to people, He can sure use you. I am the least deserving of where I am now but thank God the Lord is the one who establishes our steps. He has a plan for you and me. You are important, please don’t believe otherwise. Not for a second. You are SPECIAL!
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I currently Pastor the Young Adults at Life Community Church.
I also write music with people and for people. I enjoy group writing sessions and just creating in general!
Some shoutouts –
Shout out to Jazz & Naicy smith for always writing with me.
Shout out to Christian Cantu, David Cervantes, & Edgar (AKA LOST BOY) for always creating with me.
Lastly, shout out to Stevo Valdez, David Key, David Maldonado, & Daniel Gonzales for pushing me and always believing in what the Lord has placed in my heart.
I don’t if I have a specialty, I feel like I am not the person who could answer that haha. Maybe my friends can?
I think the thing I am the most proud of is graduating from college and giving my mom a degree for her to have.
They tried to do the college thing but had me at a young age, also my mom moved here from Mexico when she was 17/18. So seeing her adapt to a whole new place has been inspiring. Seeing my dad go from working at a warehouse to working his way up to becoming a vendor vetting coordinator of an oil and gas company is inspiring. Both without a college degree. I owe everything I have to them and I pray that I can always bring honor to their name!
I also got a chance to write a song with Inspire Church Houston. Learning from the was amazing! I will never forget the feeling I felt when I heard the song being played during their service. A song that was bred out of a tough season. Another cool highlight of my life was when I auditioned for Maverick City Music’s Spanish writing camp and made it. I wasn’t able to get off of work so I had to miss out but getting that acceptance email was super cool (have to pay them bills LOL!)!
I don’t know what sets me apart from others. I am also not the competitive type. I think we all have something we do great and there is a lot we can learn from each other. I think that’s where the beauty is found. Everyone carries a God-given gift that we all get to enjoy. I mean, I think that’s what you are doing through this magazine. Putting us in the world of all of these amazing creatives!
I will say this, I don’t think this sets me apart but I do want to be remembered as a person who truly cared. I hope and pray that I can be a place of hope and comfort for anyone I may cross paths with. I just want people to feel loved!
How do you think about happiness?
My family and seeing people smile.
I think my parents and my niece make me the most happy. They are my safe place and my comfort zone.
I genuinely feel like I am at home if one of them is nearby. I don’t know how I will do it when I get married and have to move out!
Seeing people smile makes me happy because I think that we all have a story. We have all faced some sort of difficulty and the fact that we are still able to smile warms my heart. I look for opportunities to make people smile. You never know how one small word or act can change someone’s life forever. I just want people to feel loved if I am being honest.
Pricing:
- $50 – 30 Min Photoshoot + Edits
- $100 – 1 HR Photoshoot + Edits
Contact Info:
- Website: https://lifecc.tv/
- Instagram: @jonathan.allenby
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jonathan.cisneros.902/
Image Credits
1. Hortencia Padilla (Model for this picture) Jonathan Cisneros – Photographer
2. Jose & Hortencia Padilla (Models for this picture) Jonathan Cisneros – Photographer
3. Shawn Archibald & Inspira Coffee (Models for this picture) Jonathan Cisneros – Photographer
4. Jacob Pena (Model for this picture) Jonathan Cisneros – Photographer
5. Joe Courvier (Model for this picture) Jonathan Cisneros – Photographer
6. Jazz Smith & Jonathan Cisneros (Models for this picture) Naicy Smith – Photographer
7. Jonathan Cisneros at Life Community Church (Model for this picture) Steven Urbina – Photographer
8. Astros Fans (Models for this picture) Jonathan Cisneros – Photographer
