From the beginning, Jonathan and Olympia Herrera made two conscious choices: multiply and remain covocational. Those decisions are shaping a story where everyday life and gospel mission are inseparable, and where a small, simple church is already bearing fruit.
In 2023 they began a new church, Iglesia Nueva Cancion—“New Song”—in Paradise Hills, CA. The name captures their vision: a fresh expression of praise rising up in a diverse community where Hispanic, Filipino, African American, and Anglo neighbors live side by side.
The Herreras are passionate about embracing the hard work of church planting to start from scratch, build teams, and watch God breathe life into a new gathering of believers. “We love the gritty part of planting churches,” Jonathan says. “It’s what God has wired us to do. Though it is not easy, it is truly a joy. When ministry feels heavy,” Jonathan says, “we stop and rest in God. He carries it.” God is faithful to complete the good work that He began (Phil. 1:6), and as the Herreras and their core team engage the city, they find rest and strength in the Lord.
Choosing a Different Strategy
Jonathan is not only a pastor. He is also a sixth-grade teacher in a dual-language school. For more than twenty years, he has shaped young minds in both Spanish and English. Teaching is his passion, and this vocation is central to their mission strategy.
Rather than stepping away from his career to pursue a full-time pastoral role, Jonathan and Olympia chose the covocational path. Unlike bivocational planting, which often serves as a bridge until a church can pay its pastor, covocational planting is a deliberate choice to use the spheres of influence within the marketplace to live missionally. This approach keeps leaders deeply embedded in the community, building trust in daily life while leading the church.
Jonathan has many conversations with colleagues and neighbors who know him not only as a teacher, but also as a pastor. Many families come to Nueva Canción because they already know “Mr. Herrera.” For Jonathan and Olympia, being woven into the fabric of the community and living out the gospel in classrooms, work meetings, grocery store aisles, and other everyday spaces has become a natural rhythm of life.
One of the benefits of covocational planting is credibility. Neighbors see a pastor who understands their schedules, their work, and their family struggles. And they see a church growing through deep, authentic relationships crossing over into daily routines where people work, live, and play. That street-level trust lowers walls. As colleagues discuss politics, culture, or anxiety, spiritual conversations emerge naturally. “I don’t lead with ‘I’m a pastor,’” Jonathan explains. “I lead as a disciple, then share more as trust grows.”
Simple Church, Shared Work
Iglesia Nueva Cancion is a simple church with clear values: Connecting, Loving, Growing, Expressing Jesus. These values shape everything they do.
Life groups and discipleship are the heartbeat. Rather than overloading the calendar with programs, the Herreras keep ministry focused on building relationships, equipping disciples, growing, and serving the neighborhood. “We have a simple focus and simple budget,” Jonathan explains, “which frees us to engage people in natural rhythms of life.”
To keep work, ministry, and family in healthy balance and to avoid burnout, the Herreras invest in developing leaders who share the load of ministry. A plurality of elders who rotate teaching. Young adults are trained and released to serve in their giftedness. “Culture is something that is cultivated and developed by the leadership,” Jonathan explains. “The early church shows us how to encourage others to lead in their gifting, so the whole body grows and serves together. Joy is increased when we live out the gospel in this way.”
This shared culture prevents burnout and multiplies leaders. Already, a young Timothy is preparing to be sent from their church as a future planter. The church’s five-year plan includes sending another team by 2026. Multiplication is not an afterthought; it is part of the DNA from the very beginning.
Olympia expressed her calling in this journey, “Part of being covocational planters is being a witness to how God calls individuals and couples into His work. Sometimes He calls us when we least expect it. And when He calls, we are invited to respond with faith and courage. I see my calling as supporting the work of the church, caring for our family, and walking alongside Jonathan in faith. It is a privilege to serve the body of Christ while also tending to the well-being of our home, knowing that God is at work in all things.”
This commitment to multiplication is strengthened by a wider culture of collaboration, as several local pastors link arms to encourage one another and model Kingdom unity. They connect and encourage one another through quarterly “Koinonía Gatherings,” where nearby church planters unite their congregations to pray, worship, and break bread together. This spirit of connectedness reflects the pattern of the early church in Acts 2:42–47, where believers devoted themselves to fellowship (koinonía), to prayer, to the breaking of bread, and to worship together. In the same way, these gatherings embody a broader Kingdom synergy that points to the unity and mission of Christ’s church.
Multiplication Through Partnership
Recently, a larger established church in nearby Chula Vista took notice of what God was doing through Iglesia Nueva Cancion. They invited the Herreras to partner, offering them a building and new opportunities to reach the Latino community alongside an English-speaking demographic. Jonathan was offered a full-time role, but he declined. “That’s not what God has called me to do,” he said. “We’ve been faithful with a little; now He’s opening a bigger door. We’ll walk through it as covo planters.” Once again, he and Olympia chose again to remain covocational, convinced that this strategy is not a steppingstone but a calling.
Today the church has about 80 members, with roughly 100 attending weekly gatherings. Now, the Herreras and their team are preparing to move their ministry to Chula Vista, continuing to serve and multiply. They step into this new season with open hands, ready to see what God will do. Olympia shared, “I rejoice in seeing all that God is doing! Church planting is not easy, but it draws us to pray with diligence and intentionality. Patience reminds us that it is truly God at work, not us. And while it does require sacrifice and time, we count it joy because we love the work God is doing in us and through us as the local body of believers.”
What Their Story Shows Us
The Herreras’ journey offers a living picture of covocational planting:
- Presence matters. Being embedded in everyday work builds trust that opens doors for the gospel.
- Simplicity is strength. A clear focus on making disciples and growing together keeps energy on what matters most.
- Shared leadership multiplies impact. Empowering others prevents burnout, raises new leaders, and more fully reflects the glory of God when all of the parts of the body of Christ are engaged and thriving.
- Multiplication is the goal. Churches plant churches. Not when they are big enough, but when they are faithful enough.
In the end, this is not a story about strategy alone. It is a story about faithfulness. Jonathan and Olympia have chosen to be present in their city, to lead simply, and to trust God with the future. And in doing so, they are teaching us all a new song.
For Missionary Couples Discerning Covo
If you’re discerning this path, Jonathan and Olympia’s story offer a freeing picture: You don’t have to leave your weekday world to lead a church on mission. You can bring the church into it and watch Jesus sing a new song over your city. Jonathan’s counsel is as practical as it is pastoral:
- Decide together. “You both need to agree and know your call.”
- Consider your context. “If you want to immerse quickly in a people and place, covovocational planting may be the most direct path.”
- Build a core that shapes the DNA. “Your core team will give you lenses you don’t have. Train them well, then send.”
For more information on covocational church planting, go to: covochurchplanting.com
Published October 2, 2025