Episode 25: Jonathan Tremaine Thomas

We have a conversation with Jonathan Tremaine Thomas about issues of justice, reconciliation, all peoples coming to the table, and how the arts can affect change in a culture.

Jonathan Tremaine Thomas was raised in the southern foothills of western North Carolina along with his brother, worship artist Jaye Thomas. As a fifth generation “preacher’s kid”, and the grandnephew of the late Civil Rights activist and music legend Dr. Nina Simone; Jonathan represents a unique blending of artistic history and divine calling. 

After earning a B.S. Communications at East Carolina University and pursuing an M.A. in Intercultural Studies at Fuller Theological Seminary; Jonathan was commissioned in by Bethel World Outreach Center as a missionary to the most violent neighborhoods in Nashville, TN. While serving in these communities, he was personified as Tony in the 2006 Sony Pictures film The Second Chance. In this context, Jonathan began to employ his theatrical, film, and media production skills to equip and encourage young people through establishing a non-profit creative company. As president of Uproot Media, LLC; he worked as an actor, host, and voiceover talent appearing with prominent roles in two feature films and over 150 commercials, industrials, and radio ads. 

As a missionary and prayer mobilizer, Jonathan has spearheaded extensive evangelism, prayer, and repentance gatherings in stadiums and cities across the nation including The Call Detroit, The Ferguson Response, Azusa Now LA, Awaken The Dawn, The Tent Charleston, OneRace Stone Mountain, and CLEAN. He gained a voice nationally due to his peacemaking efforts during the 2014 civil unrest in Ferguson, Missouri. In 2018, while serving on the pastoral team at Destiny Church St.Louis, he founded Civil Righteousness, Inc. 

Today, through the Civil Righteousness movement, he directs prayer fueled evangelism, community transformation, and ethnic reconciliation initiatives in hundreds of cities across the globe. With a strong conviction to “earnestly contend for the faith”; Jonathan carries an uncompromising message of identity in Christ and eternal perspective. 

He currently resides in Ferguson, MO with his wife Mollie and their young daughter.

Jonathan's Recommendation:
The Broken Heart of America by Walter Johnson