I’m Jim Ayers.
Thanks for taking a few minutes to explore my website. If we have never met personally, allow me to take a moment to introduce myself. In 2022, I am celebrating 46 years of vocational ministry as a youth, assistant and senior pastor as well as an interim pastor in seven different churches. Nearly 35 years of my life have been invested in academia as a department chair and professor at two different institutions, teaching undergraduate, masters and doctoral classes. I have earned four degrees in higher education including studies at Oxford University in England. One of my greatest passions is taking people to Middle Eastern countries i.e. Israel/Palestine, Jordan, Turkey, Greece, and Egypt to enrich their understanding of the Bible. To date, I’ve been to these countries more than 25 times!
I am a husband to Betsy, father of three married sons and grandpa to six grandchildren- and four “grand-dogs!” Thousands of former students know me as “Doc.” Many others remember me as their pastor, mentor, counselor, consultant, friend- or best of all- a brother in Christ! Perhaps our paths crossed at a Bible Conference or weekend retreat with your church group. I like to celebrate the past. If I could summarize my life in ministry, I would paraphrase the popular tag line from Farmers Insurance commercials, I know a thing or two because I’ve seen a thing or two. As an avid reader and student of culture, my experiences and perspectives are broad!
That is the motivation behind this website. Over a life span of 6+ decades, I have watched our world morph dramatically and I enjoy the challenge of helping churches and ministry oriented organizations assess their present culture. Ultimately, I desire to be a catalyst for maximum local/global impact in the future. My approach is holistic, meaning that if we want pastors, leadership teams, churches and Christian non-profit organizations to be healthy, they probably need to rethink where they have been, where they are and where they want to chart a course for the next three to five years.
This website is like a mosaic of fitting the pieces of my passions together…SPEAKING, TRAVEL, RESEARCH, WRITING & EQUIPPING options to engage individuals and groups with knowing and doing the Word of God; COACHING & CONSULTING services to assist at the micro and macro levels; PERSONALIZED PASTORAL SERVICES available for those who are not currently engaged in a local church; and RESOURCES to assist you along your spiritual journey. I will continue writing new resources as needs are identified. It would be an honor to serve you or partner with you!
If you know me, you also know that I am passionate about leading my IMAGINE PILGRIMAGES. They are more than a tour in countries where the Bible lands come to life! These are pilgrimages to Israel/Palestine, Turkey, Greece, Egypt, Jordan and , hopefully, Italy. They are a unique blend of helping pilgrims understand how the Scriptures are understood in their historical and cultural context with the added benefit of experiencing the geography and archaeology of authentic biblical and critically relevant sites. Your “head, hands and heart” will be fully engaged. I promise!
