New Youth Minister

Rev. Eric Folkerth

We all just got a great Christmas present: We’re pleased to announce that Jon Campoverde has accepted the job as Youth Minister for Kessler Park!

Jon is a student at Perkins School of Theology who brings years of ministry and student experience to us. He’s coming to us from Cathedral of Hope in Dallas, and a staff position there with children and youth they called “NextGen Coordinator.”

Previously, Jon has been a high school teacher who was well known for his relational way with students. But his current call is to ordained ministry, and he is on the “elder track” through the North Texas Conference of the UMC. He is also currently applying to the doctoral program at SMU, and intends to pursue a PhD in religion and culture. At Perkins, Jon has served as the Perkins Student Association as the “Justice-in-Action Chair.”

Jon has been on a faith journey that has taken him from evangelical roots, to being a strong supporter of the LGBTQ and Latino communities, and progressive Methodism. He grew up in the “Valley” of South Texas, is bilingual, and so becomes our first Latino/Hispanic staff member at KPUMC; another facet of his personhood that should help us as we seek to minister to the diverse needs of North Oak Cliff.

As a first-generation Latino — Ecuadorian father and a Canadian mother— Jon knows firsthand the difficulty of reconciling one’s heritage with the culture around you.

Jon is married to Stephanie Frakes Campoverde, and they have a three-year-old daughter, Beth, and two cats. Stephanie is also a church professional.

When not studying or spending time with family, Jon enjoys reading/writing speculative fiction, playing/streaming video and board games, and developing/implementing scenarios for tabletop role-playing games.  

Jon recently met a roundtable of five KPUMC Youth, who gave him an enthusiastic “ten thumbs up,” and are thrilled that he is joining our staff. His tentative start date with us will be just after Christmas in the first week of January.

So look forward to meeting and greeting Jon soon.

Welcome, Jon Campoverde!

And, Merry Christmas to all of us at KPUMC!