Pastor Jason C. Reynolds

Pastor Jason C. Reynolds is the Senior Pastor of Emmanuel Baptist Church in San Jose, CA. Since arriving at Emmanuel in 2012, Pastor Jason has renewed the church’s mission, vision, and values through a variety of endeavors, including a revitalized worship service format, a new and thriving prayer ministry with 13 groups gathering weekly morning and evening by phone for prayer, and the Legacy 50:50 Stewardship Campaign, which raised 1.4M above regular tithes to renovate the worship center and reshape the church’s financial standing.

Driven by his dedication to evangelism, Pastor Jason has led Emmanuel in innovative projects designed to meet both the spiritual and physical needs of the community. Among them have been the Labor Day Gas Buy Down, 3&3 Pentecost Worship Service at Santa Clara Convention Center, the Legacy Academy, an after-school program focused on decreasing the educational gap for children of color and creating new opportunity pathways for children and families, and Emmanuel Cares, which supported the everyday grocery needs of residents in the immediate vicinity of the church. During the COVID pandemic, Emmanuel partnered with the county of Santa Clara County for 18 months to provide space for 92,000 residents to be tested and 68,000 residents to be vaccinated.

Pastor Jason also has a unique gifting and love for the creative arts, which led to his writing and producing a number of worship theatrical plays for the church, including “Miracle on White Road”, “The Magnifcat”, “In Defense of the Cross”, and “The Incarnation”. In 2021, he wrote, co-produced and co-directed Emmanuel’s first short movie, “The Other Side of Christmas.”

 
Pastor Jason’s commitment to community service extends beyond his pastoral ministry at Emmanuel. Currently, he is a Board Member of Momentum for Health, the largest non-profit mental health provider in Santa Clara County (helping to guide the organization’s future and increase diversity) He is also a former member of the Community Advisory Board to the Chief of Police in San Jose and has been a community trainer for the San Jose Police Department on procedural justice since 2019. In 2014, he became a founding member of “Claiming the Beloved Community”- an interfaith group of clergy and laypeople called, and an extension of People Acting in Community Together (PACT) - to improve the relationships and accountability of local law enforcement. As a leading member of this group, he meets with the Mayor, Chief of Police, Independent Police Auditor, NAACP, and multiple faith traditions to collaboratively create solutions for the city of San Jose. In 2018, Pastor Jason became an Adjunct Professor at Evergreen Valley College in the Philosophy Department, teaching an Introduction to Ethics course to inspire and guide young adults.

In recognition for his community service, Pastor Jason has been the recipient of numerous awards and commendations from groups including the California Legislative Assembly, The City of San Jose, the African American Community Service Agency, and the Santa Clara County Public Health Department

Pastor Jason earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Washington University in St. Louis, a Master of Arts in Divinity from McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago, and an Executive Education certificate from the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University. In 2018, he became a Senior Fellow of American Leadership Forum Silicon Valley.

Pastor Jason has been happily married to Poch'e (“Po-Shay”) Reynolds since 2008, and together they have two sons - Jadon Reynolds and Jason Reynolds, II (affectionately called “Bubba”). Pastor Jason is an avid tennis player and loves spending time watching movies and discussing the intersections between culture and faith.

OUR AMAZING TEAM