Jon Courson

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Jon Courson is a Christian leader and pastor in the United States.

In 1977, Courson founded the Applegate Christian Fellowship, a non-denominational church in southern Oregon with a congregation of twenty people, which grew to 8,000 people by 2002. Today, 3,000 people attend Applegate each week. In addition, Courson speaks nationally and internationally at churches, conferences, and retreats.

Searchlight, Coursons's radio teaching ministry, is aired on more than 400 radio stations daily. Jon is well-known for his verse-by-verse approach to teaching the Bible, and for his comforting and humorous, but direct, style. He has amassed more than 1,500 expositional and topical Bible studies during his ministry. He is the author of A Future and a Hope, A Day's Journey, and A Place For You, A Pillar By Day, and the 3-volume Jon Courson's Application Commentary.

In 2002, Courson accepted a request to join his longtime mentor and friend Chuck Smith at Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa in California. In 2005, Courson moved on to teach at a pastor training school in Carmen Serdan, Mexico for young men.

In March of 2006 Jon left Carmen Serdan to move back to southern Oregon to join his son Peter-John Courson pastoring at Applegate Christian Fellowship. He also continues to teach the pastor training school which was relocated to the Mountaintop Retreat Center, which is a part of the ministry of Applegate Christian Fellowship. Along with this move came the transition away from the standard Senior Pastor role at Applegate for Peter-John, his eldest son. Applegate now has three Teaching Pastors, Jon, Peter-John, and Jon's youngest son, Ben.

Jon lives in Southern Oregon with his wife Tammy. They have four children and two grandchildren. Jon's first wife went home to be with the Lord a number of years ago. Jessie, his eldest daughter, went home to be with the Lord when she was 16 years old. Both died in car accidents.