our senior pastor
Our Senior Pastor is Jeff Honson. Jeff was raised in Chicago, and has lived in Rockford since 1971. He graduated from Northern Illinois University in '76 with a degree in Business Marketing before hearing God's call to attend Bethel Theological Seminary in St. Paul, MN. He graduated from Bethel in '81 with a Masters in Divinity and served two years as a Youth Pastor at Bethany Baptist Church in Roseville, MN before returning to Rockford.
Jeff served 10 years as Youth Pastor for Temple Baptist Church in Rockford before being hired on as the Senior Pastor for Elim Baptist Church in Chicago. He served there 5 years, then returned to Temple as the Associate Pastor of Adult Ministries for 9 2/3 years until Janunary of 2006.
Jeff received God's call to plant a church in the Machesney/Loves Park area while at the Catalyst Conference at NorthPoint Church in Atlanta in October 2005. Along with his leadership team, Pastor Jeff began worship services at NorthRidge in February of 2006
Jeff has been married to his beautiful wife, Ann, since 1976. His oldest son, Matt, and his wife, Nora, are in their last year of ministry training at Bethel Seminary in St. Paul, MN; his daughter, Katie, is working as a cosmotologist in Chicagoland and also at Starbucks in Rockford, and his youngest son, Mike, is a student at Rock Valley College and is planning to be a youth pastor.
Jeff is always available at (815)222-1467 if you have any questions for him.
