John Costa

John grew up in a large family of 11 siblings on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. He was raised in a conservative Christian church, learning the Bible from a young age. Straying from his upbringing early in his youth, he battled addiction, anxiety, and depression. In his early 20s, desperate for change and deliverance, John surrendered his life to Christ and experienced Christ’s transformation and renewal.

Not long after giving his life to Christ, John recognized a special calling to ministry. In 2009, he worked for a faith-based rehabilitation program called Teen Challenge, a New England-wide non-profit organization. At their headquarters in Brockton, Massachusetts, he worked as their IT Assistant, specializing in hardware/software repair and networking. He was transferred to their New Hampshire center in 2012, where he served as a Biblical Learning Coordinator, implementing biblical curriculum and providing discipleship lectures. When he returned to the administration department in Massachusetts in 2013, he wore several hats, maintaining a role in the IT department, doing presentations for the program as they visited hundreds of churches, and working on the sound team for chapel services and special events. During that time, he served as a youth leader for two years at a local church, providing lessons, activities, and staffing youth field trips.

When John had the opportunity to lead studies and preach from the pulpit at a few chapel services in his early ministry, his passion and gift for teaching were recognized. He decided to pursue his calling by enrolling at Liberty University, where he earned a B.S. in Religion (Biblical/Theological Studies). He attended Seminary at Liberty University’s Rawlings School of Divinity for an M.A. in Religion (Christian Apologetics), which he will have in hand this June.

John has lived in the Berkshires for the last eleven years and now resides in Sheffield, Massachusetts, with Linda, his wife of ten years. In addition to his studies and ministry pursuits, he has spent the last several years working in carpentry and construction. His passion for building projects is only surpassed by his passion for kingdom building.

John created a YouTube channel called “Christian’s Quest,” where he provides lessons on apologetics and discipleship. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9uiIAzlbHlYde3SpyHgVAA

He has also been working on a personal project with his sister Marissa, who is working on a Ph.D. in Neuroscience, to develop an addiction recovery framework that integrates biblical principles into the medical treatment of substance use disorder.