As one of the clearest voices and greatest minds within the body of Christ and across the nation, Dr. John E. Guns has managed to educate, empower, and encourage the hearts and lives of several cultures, denominations, and people. Always delivering a fresh, focused, and custom tailored word, Dr. John Guns significantly transcends the expectations of the typical preacher.

Dr. Guns views ministry not just as a weekend experience but as a life-long assignment to further clarify the call of God upon the lives of believers. He consistently devotes his life to reading, thinking, speaking, and writing.

As the Spiritual Father and Senior Pastor of St. Paul Church of Jacksonville, Inc. he has totally revived what was once a rigid, placid, traditional southern Baptist church into an oasis of faith, fellowship, and FUN. Through extremely innovative thinking and an approachable spirit, Guns has epitomized koinonia before this great congregation and has ultimately built an amazing community of believers. Within the city, he has been the catalyst and trailblazer always seeking God for unsullied, exciting, and revelatory ways to better the BODY of CHRIST. The vision the Lord has on the heart of this anointed man is ultimately steered toward the holistic empowerment of the city of Jacksonville, FL.

Along the course of his ministry, he served as the Youth Minister for the Abyssinia Baptist Church in Norfolk, Virginia, where Dr. Frank Guns (father) is the Senior Pastor. In December of 1986, he was ordained at the Abyssinia Baptist Church and became pastor the following year at Union Bethel Baptist Church of Chesapeake. Finally, in 1996, he was called to the office of Senior Pastor of the St. Paul Church of Jacksonville, Inc.

Formally educated in the public and private school systems of the Tidewater community in Virginia, Guns also graduated cum laude from Norfolk State University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology, attended Virginia Union University, School of Theology and completed his Masters of Divinity degree in 1991 and Doctorate of Ministry in 2009. Amidst being an incredible preacher/teacher, he is serving as an Adjunct Professor at Virginia Union University, he is the author of several books (Favor, Shadow Anointing, Sermons from the Heart for the Mind, Journeying Toward Intimacy: Devotion from the Beatitudes, 31 Days of Pursuing God – Devotional Book), serving as founder to several ministry ideas, organizations, and initiatives such as Sound the Trumpet Broadcast – WORD Network, John E. Guns Ministries, Inc., JEG Enterprises, Inc., St. Paul Community Empowerment Center, Inc., Project for Strong Families, Inc., and many others, Dr. Guns manages the balance of his life extremely well. Dr. Guns is married to the former Sonjanique Lee and is richly blessed to have three daughters, Alexis, Daijah and Tayler.