Biographical Sketch of Pastor John Lown

John has been pastor at Lafayette Presbyterian Church since May 2003.

He was born in Charlotte, NC, and raised in Columbia, SC. He received a degree from Presbyterian College (SC) in English, where he also lettered in basketball and track. He went on to receive Master of Divinity and Doctor of Ministry degrees from Union Theological Seminary in Virginia.

He served churches in Virginia from 1973 to 2003, except for 3 years when he was working for the Virginia Council of Churches/Refugee Resettlement Program, from 1995 to 1998.

John, from 2005 to 2010, served as a member of the Board of Trustees of Thornwell Home for Children in Clinton, SC, a ministry of the Synod of the South Atlantic. He served as Chair of the Board in 2009 and 2010. Thornwell provides a home for up to 90 at-risk children, ages 2-18, in a cottage community setting. John would love to share with you ways you can support the children at Thornwell.

He was elected a commissioner to the 219th General Assembly (2010) of the Presbyterian Church, by the Presbytery of Florida. He had also been a commissioner to the 200th General Assembly (1988) from Hanover Presbytery.

He is married to Toya O’Hora. They have 6 grown children in their blended family. They have traveled to Malawi in southeastern Africa in 2000, 2004 and 2005, to work with the Mission Hospital and Schools in Embangweni and churches in Kalikumbi. They plan to return.