We are the Canavans

Missionaries to NYC

God has called us to plant churches in NYC. We are currently on deputation raising money to get there. Thank you for taking the time to learn more about us.

Jon’s Story

I am the youngest of 10 children and I was raised in a Christian home. I went to church every week from the time I was 3 years old. When I was 7 years old, I accepted Jesus as my Savior. I knew that I had sinned against a perfect and Holy God and that my sin separated me from God. I placed my faith and trust that Jesus came to earth, lived a perfect and sinless life and died on the cross for my sins, and ascended to heaven 3 days later. I continued to go to church and I grew in my walk with the Lord. As a teenager, I began to drift away from the things of God. After high school I spent a year at a Christian College and it was while I was there I started to backslide and fall away from God. The next 4 years I lived my life as a prodigal. On New Year’s Day 2009 I surrendered my life, my vices and my all to God. That night I surrendered my life to live for God in all that I would do. A few months after, I felt God was calling me into the ministry to preach His Word. I attended 2 different Bible Colleges and graduated from West Coast Baptist College in May of 2014. While in college, I had the privilege to do ministry in NYC for 3 summers. It was while I was there that God started to burden my heart for the people of NYC. I began praying and asking God to send people to plant churches there. In my junior year of college, during a church planting conference, God called me and I surrendered my life to church planting in NYC. After graduation, I worked at West Coast Baptist College in the transportation department, while waiting for Amber to finish her degree. In the summer of 2015, we were married and began serving together at my home church in Georgia. We have had the privilege to work in many different areas of ministry, including bus ministry and youth ministry. It is our desire to see churches planted throughout New York City. Our vision is to evangelize, disciple, plant churches and train people for the ministry. We hope to be able to send missionaries from NYC all around the world.

Amber’s Story

I grew up in a godly Christian home in Oklahoma. I made a profession of faith at a very young age. When I was ten years old, during junior church, I heard several different kids give part of their salvation testimony and I realized I didn’t know anything about mine. After a few weeks of this, I realized I was basing my salvation off of what other people said and had not repented of my sins. After church on Nov 11, 2001, I talked with my dad who took me through the Romans road and I placed my faith and trust in Jesus. I surrendered to be a missionary at the next missions conference at our church. Throughout my childhood, I read many of my dad’s missionary books and knew I wanted to spend my life doing God’s work.