Jon Reed

My name is Jon Reed and I’m the Senior Pastor here at Tusculum Baptist.  I have been married to my wife Leann of 33 years and we have 3 boys: Austin who is a student at Tusculum University, Isaac who is in his senior year of high school and Lane who is in middle school.  We came to Tusculum Baptist in August 2025, and moved to Greeneville in August of 2026.  

I have been in pastoral ministry since 1994, serving 5 other churches in Kentucky, Virginia, and Tennessee. Prior to becoming a pastor, I served my home church in Gate City, Virginia as youth pastor.  I have always told my boys “find what you love to do and then do it, that way you won’t feel like you have to go to work.”  I love people and love the Lord and His word and because of that being a pastor has never felt like work, instead it always been a great blessing.  

I have a Master’s of Divinity from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY.  My wife and I moved there shortly after our wedding and God taught us a lot through that experience.  I also spent 10 years coaching football while pastoring, including a 5 year stint at Averett University in Danville, Virginia where I was also the team pastor.  When we moved back to Northeast Tennessee we began a soccer league at the church that we served and spent 12 years introducing children and families to the Gospel of Jesus Christ through the beautiful game of soccer.  I have also been involved in Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) for over 15 years.  My dad was a football coach and was able to share the Gospel through sports and I’ve been blessed to be able to continue doing that.  I presently am the FCA leader at Tusculum University and I love to see how God moves among the students at the college.  

We served our previous church for over 18 years and many people wondered why we would make a change after all that time.  We truly felt a connection to Tusculum Baptist and to the community and it became obvious that God was calling us here.  I love the people at TBC, their commitment to God’s word, and their commitment to ministering to all ages, but especially the commitment that the church has to minister to the students at the University, which is right across the street.  I feel honored to get to partner with the church in reaching out to the college and community.  

I believe in the entirety of God’s word and that every word is important, but if I had to choose a couple of my favorite verses, I would say John 10:10, Jesus said “I have come that you may have life and have it to the fullest,” and Colossians 1:17 “and He is before all things and in Him all things are held together.”   I truly believe that Jesus is the way to live life, He is the only way to eternal life and through Him we can live life to the fullest.  Colossians 1:17 is special to me, because I truly believe that Jesus holds us together and keeps us from falling apart.  I have seen that in my own life as our oldest son had heart surgery at 20 days old.  I thought life was falling apart, but Jesus held us together.  Our middle son has autism and in the past has suffered from seizures, there were times I was overwhelmed but God held me together.  I am thankful for His presence and feel blessed to to get to tell people about Him and His goodness.  One of the greatest things about ministry is seeing Jesus hold people together and seeing them grow closer to Him.  

I love sports and in my free time love to play guitar, drink espresso and read (theology or even an occasional Batman comic).  My wife and I are also involved in Freeway ministries in Kingsport which is a community outreach to people struggling with homelessness and addiction.  

Fun fact: I was adopted twice.  Once by my parents at 10 days old, and once by Jesus Christ when I was 9.