Rising Stars: Meet Rowdy Van Horn of Scottsdale

Today we’d like to introduce you to Rowdy Van Horn.

Hi Rowdy, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My wife, Ashli, and I traveled the world speaking at different churches for 11 years. We were blessed to have been given a wonderful beginning under a pastor named Tommy Barnett. Then God called us to open a Christian, nondenominational church in Scottsdale, and the first thing I learned was—my goodness— how totally unprepared I was for pastoring. And so, for me, the beginning years of the church were about God remaking me from a speaker into a pastor. It was a lovely, painful, terrible, necessary process. Ha. And now, I’m so thankful for it all. Skip ahead to spring of 2024, and the owners of the building we were leasing told us they were selling the building and we had to get out. We had just changed the name to Jesus People Church, which really exemplifies the joyful, loving personality of the church and its people, and we had nowhere to go. And then, an incredible miracle happened, and a building opened up for us in the most incredible location right off the 101 & Princess exit. It was more than we could’ve ever imagined. Of course, this is what the Bible teaches, and what I’ve always seen in my life, that God will always do above and beyond what you could imagine, hope for, or dream up. We had five weeks to get it ready, and just last November, we had our Grand Opening. Coming up on Sunday, November 2, we have our One Year Anniversary Celebration. The church is really about people trying to be more like Jesus. We are about loving people, living a humble life, serving others, feeding the homeless, supporting each other in community through our Home Groups, spending time in prayer, growing in God, telling others about all Jesus has done in our own lives, and helping others become more like Him. We are a Bible-believing, Spirit-filled church, and you’ll find a beautiful worship time, prayer, kindness, encouragement, hope, and so much love and joy. And right now, we are seeing so many young people coming and suddenly wanting to dedicate their lives to ministry and telling others about Jesus. It’s a very special time, and we are so grateful to God, and He gets all the glory for everything that is happening.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
(I guess I answered too much on the last question. Haha.)

It has not been a smooth road, but a smooth road is slippery. We’ve had lots of struggles, but the struggles have been worth it because we were willing to learn from them, and to keep our focus on our big picture, which is to help others find the love, forgiveness, blessings, and relationship of Jesus, and a loving community to help them keep growing.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I tell people about Jesus, I teach from the Bible and make it simple! I’m also known for being a singer. I don’t know that anything sets me apart. I’m not better than anybody else. I’m human, but every day I’m trying to be more like Jesus. Every day, dying more to myself. I think what I’m grateful for is this opportunity, and my wife, my family, our leadership team (Team Jesus), and a lot of people who are committed to the same thing. “Proud” is a word I avoid for obvious reasons. Ha. Because none of the good things that have happened are because of me. Everything is because of God.

Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
Christlikeness is the goal! Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control. These are what I’m always asking God to grow more deeply in me.

Contact Info:

• Website: jesuspeople.online
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jesus.people.church?igsh=MXJpcWtoeGtzZWht&utm_source=qr
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1a6HYZ4Mjg/?mibextid=wwXIfr
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@jesuspeoplechurchscottsdale?si=H5Jn5Mmy1rozh4cp

Image Credits
Saint Van Horn, Chase Vawter