Justin McLane

Invite Justin McLane to bring a candid, Scripture-grounded message of redemption, personal faith, courageous leadership, and resilient conviction to your audience.

Your Past Does Not Disqualify You
A compelling case for redemption, grounded in Justin’s movement from paganism to pastoral ministry.

God Is Personal
A path beyond spiritual performance toward a living relationship with God as Father.

Convictional Resilience in a Fractured World
Practical encouragement for standing firm without becoming hardened by pressure, division, or loss.

Faith in the Public Square
A faith-based case for responsible civic engagement, moral clarity, and courageous pastoral leadership.

Leadership Under Pressure
Battle-tested lessons on responsibility, discipline, and mission-focused leadership from military service, business, and ministry.

Justin McLane is a combat veteran, pastor, author, and civic leader whose life is a living testimony that the past does not have the final word.

He was raised in a politically progressive, anti-Christian home and spent nearly 28 years as a practicing pagan. Long before he stood behind a pulpit, Justin served in the United States Army and deployed twice to Iraq with the 101st Airborne Division. During his second deployment, from 2005 to 2006, he served as a Sergeant and Team Leader for a convoy security element on a combat tour, operating in direct contact with the enemy. The Army taught him discipline, responsibility, and the necessity of steady leadership under pressure.

After military service, Justin became an entrepreneur. He owned four businesses, ranging from retail locations to firearms and wilderness-survival instruction for families. He also served his community as Promotions Committee Chair for the Elizabethton Main Street Organization Board and as president of a local Disabled American Veterans chapter. Business gave him a practical education in leadership, operations, and serving people face to face. Yet even with successful ventures to run, he felt the Lord calling him toward something different.

In August 2022, Justin had an intense supernatural encounter with God that changed the direction of his life. He left paganism behind, began theological training the following March, and was licensed by the Assemblies of God in July 2024. He is now pursuing ordination with Trinity Fellowship. After closing his final retail store to pursue ministry full time, Justin and his wife planted The New Hope Fellowship in Elizabethton, Tennessee, in September 2024, only weeks before Hurricane Helene struck the region. He currently serves as the church’s Lead Pastor.

Justin is also the Chief Operations Officer of America’s Black Robe Regiment, a national nonprofit that equips pastors and believers to engage faithfully in civic life. He believes the pulpit must not be silent on the issues shaping the church, the family, and the nation. His convictions have brought personal cost, including strained relationships with friends and family, but they have also deepened his belief that courage without compassion is empty, and compassion without conviction is fragile.

His book, God Is Personal: Finding the Father in a Crowded World, was published in February 2026, along with an accompanying workbook. Drawing on the questions he heard repeatedly in ministry, Justin helps people move through the noise, disappointment, and religious performance that can make God feel distant. His message is plain: God is not an idea to debate or a ritual to perform. He is a Father to know.

Justin speaks to churches, men’s gatherings, veteran communities, leadership events, and faith-and-civic audiences. His talks bring together hard-won military discipline, pastoral warmth, an entrepreneur’s practical judgment, and a redemption story that reaches people who believe they have gone too far or been away too long.

Core message: Your past does not disqualify you. Justin McLane is proof.

Justin has no requirements, but can bring slides, a wireless microphone and table display if needed.