Dr. Jonathan Hayashi became a Christian at age 16 when he heard and responded to the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ. He earned his Bachelor of Arts from Moody Bible Institute with a double concentration in Pastoral Ministry and Biblical Studies, a Master of Arts (M.A), in Congregational Leadership from Moody Theological Seminary, and Doctorate of Educational Ministry in Biblical Counseling from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.

Jonathan has assisted Southern Baptist life in various local, state and national roles. He presently serves on the Executive Committee at Southwest Baptist University (Bolivar, MO) and serves on the Board of Trustees at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.

Jonathan served as Senior Pastor at Northern Hills Baptist Church Holt, Missouri from 2020-2022, Worship Pastor at Troy First Baptist Church in Troy, Missouri form 2015-2020, and as Assistant Pastor at Uptown Baptist Church in Chicago, Illinois form 2011-2015.

Outside of pastoral ministry, Jonathan is a contributor for the bi-weekly journal Pathway (Missouri Baptist Convention). He also served as a commissioner for the Missouri Commission of Human Rights and was the vice chairman for 2021. He has been fortunate to publish articles for various websites, several scholarship journal articles, book review, and his doctoral dissertation. He is the author of Ordinary Radicals: A Return to Christ-Centered Discipleship and Making Lemonade: Turning Past Failures into Gospel Opportunities.

He and his wife, Kennedi, have four children: Kaede, Seiji, Anna, and Ren.