Conversion StoriesPresbyterian & ReformedUncategorized

Jim Tonkowich: Former Presbyterian Minister

November 16, 2015 No Comments

Jim grew up in the Eastern Orthodox Church, finding Protestant Evangelicalism while away at boarding school. He spent quite a few years in business while he remained a licensed Congregational minister actively looking for work in the church or a Christian organization. Over time, however, and while working for a nondenominational youth ministry, he began to see how the Bible teaches that Christian churches should be connected, not independent in the manner that Congregational churches are governed. He found his way into the Presbyterian Church (PCA) and was ordained a minister of that denomination. His journey to the Catholic Church began when a fellow minister asked him the question, “If someone who has been baptized a Roman Catholic presents him or herself for membership in your church, would you rebaptize them?” When he responded that he would not rebaptize the person, “all hell broke loose.” This reaction of his Presbyterian colleagues caused him to begin to question his Calvinist assumptions,  eventually leading him home to the Catholic Church.