GREEN COVE SPRINGS — Ministry has always been a part of Bishop John Newman's life.

For most of his adult years, he's always found a home behind the pulpit. It was a calling that he couldn't shake. And at 89 years old, he's not stopping anytime soon.

On Sunday, Oct. 11, Newman will be celebrating 59 years of leadership at Sunshine Holiness Church. The small but mighty church on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard has been a driving force in Newman's life.  It's a place where he's continued to faithfully serve and bring hope to souls in the community as one of the longest serving pastors in the city.

"I may not pastor for forever, but I'm going to preach as long as I can talk," he said. "There's enough word in me that I can always come up with something that would benefit the lost soul."

 Newman was ordained deacon of the church in 1963. He took over as pastor in October of 1967.  Since then, Newman said he has been able to connect with humanity in impactful ways. While he's preached various sermons, officiated countless weddings and eulogized dozens of funerals, he's also had the pleasure of watching generations of families grow up in the pews.

And while he's seen both the good and the bad in the world, being able to help spread the word of God to others, he said, is what keeps him going. 

"That's why we're having so much turmoil, so much chaos because people are forgetting that God is in control of everything, we say. Everything we do."

When he moved to Clay County from Valdosta, Georgia, as a young college student, he began taking classes at Florida State College Jacksonville, Lake Community College and the University of Florida in pursuit of a career in the medical technology and phlebotomy field.

 He worked at Club Continental for a number of years, then with the State of Florida until he retired in 1999.  After becoming a full-time pastor, he said it's the only thing that has wanted to do.

"I show up for the pulpit because that's my job now.  I have to please God."

A community organizer, Newman has not only served as a mentor to youth of Green Cove Springs and the Orange Park areas, but also faithfully served with the County Ministerial Alliance. He was honored with a street, Bishop John H. Newman Corner, adjacent to the church, unveiled by the city in 2023.

Though Newman will be turning 90 in two months, he said he has every intention to keep going. And his service isn't over yet.  That means continuing to spread neighborly love, preaching words of encouragement and leading with obligation and service to God.

Because that's what it's all about.

"Whatever he says, I'll have to follow it. He's given me great things. He's done great things for me."