Soul of 78: Jonathan Dodd

Hiking Ministry and City of Lights

Words by Thomas Ingle | Image by Ryan McGill

Jonathan Dodd is a pharmacist by day and a ministry leader by night.

A Sumiton native and graduate of Dora High School and McWhorter School of Pharmacy at Samford University, Dodd works at Ken Glover Drugs as a pharmacist.

Several years ago, after feeling a call to the ministry, he became the Young Adult Pastor at Sumiton Church of God. This would eventually lead him to the church’s Celebrate Recovery program.

However, God started to lean him in different ministerial directions. Jonathan eventually gave up his youth pastorship and moved into addiction recovery ministry with City of Lights in Dora, founded by Victor and Jamie Massey. The City of Lights Dream Center is an intensive, inpatient rehabilitation program that works to effectively treat women with chronic substance abuse issues, but the organization has recently expanded its services to include men.

Dodd’s previous ministerial experience has now collided with his new gig at the Dream Center. An avid hiker, Jonathan founded an outdoor hiking ministry in the spring of 2016. “I was not in the ministry at all at the time. The youth pastor at Sumiton Church of God came to me and said, ‘I want to get a group of guys, high school seniors and college-age guys, and start an outdoor ministry with them. And someone told me you are the guy,’” he says.

Jonathan sees many parallels between nature and faith, comparing a hike to a spiritual walk. “We go up hills, and we are in valleys, rough spaces. I’m discouraged, I need somebody to help me, I can’t do this myself, I’m going to have to have somebody to help me. So, all that stuff starts bubbling to the surface as we’re out there, and that was the interesting thing,” said Dodd.

Incorporating the hiking ministry into the City of Lights seemed like a natural fit. He says the effort is in the infant stages and the organization is currently exploring ways to take individuals in recovery and expose them to the outdoors. “(We) see how that spiritually, physically, and mentally helps them because I think there is power there,” he said.

The future of the City of Lights program looks bright as the organization expands and explores new horizons.

With Dodd’s vision, the sky’s the limit. 78