Family on Mission

Adapted from a conversation with Jonathan and Angela Burgess on the Follow Forward Podcast

The call of Jesus to follow him is all‑encompassing. He doesn’t invite us to invest part of our lives in followership. It is a call to be all‑in! Christianity and compartmentalisation are contradictions in terms.

Following Jesus is whole‑life, whole‑heart, whole‑household discipleship. I don’t buy into a family vs. ministry divide. And neither do Jonathan and Angela Burgess. Parents of five and founders of the creative ministry Transform EDM, they are intentional about living as a family on mission.

An Integrated Mission

Jonathan and Angela don’t seek to balance family and ministry as if they are competing interests. Instead, they pursue an integrated approach. Angela describes it this way:

“We decided, hey, we can actually do this music thing and we can go together. We can homeschool and we can do ministry as a team, as a family together. So we like to call it family on mission.”

Their conviction is that ministry should flow out of family life, not compete with it. They are seeking to follow Christ in every sphere of life. Their ministry doesn’t start on a stage; it flows out from the dinner table.

Family on Mission (and Family as Mission)

Raising five children while travelling, creating music, advocating for life, and building community isn’t tidy. The challenges are real. Yet Jonathan and Angela embrace these seasons as opportunities for formation, explaining:

“It’s family on mission—but it’s also family as mission.”

They are determined not to win the world and lose their family. Their children are not interruptions to the call; they are central to it. Ministry isn’t something the kids observe from the sidelines—it’s something they grow up participating in. They see the good, the bad, and the ugly, learning firsthand that Christ genuinely can redeem all things.

As Angela reflected:

“You give people an example—there’s no excuse. You can go do ministry wherever, and your kids can come along, and God can use your whole family together.”

Jesus, Life, and Worship

At the heart of Transform EDM is a deceptively simple framework: Jesus, Life, and Worship. This lens shapes every decision they make. Jonathan explained it this way:

“We decided we’re about three things: sharing the uncompromised gospel of Jesus, defending life—especially the unborn—and publicly loving Jesus through worship.”

Whether standing on a stage, creating music, waving a flag that simply reads Life, or having conversations after an event, their aim is consistency—to proclaim the gospel through everything they do.

Music is the vehicle. As Jonathan put it:

“At the end of the day, it’s just a tool. God could use anything. We don’t want to hold it too tightly.”

And yet, they pursue excellence in all things as an expression of worship. Faithful stewardship of their gifts remains paramount as they seek to follow God’s call with humility and obedience.

Follow Forward, Together

Jonathan and Angela’s story is a timely encouragement for those navigating the rigours of leadership while raising families and nurturing faith‑centred communities. Their example invites reflection:

Can I live this calling without fracturing my life?
Can my home become a place of mission rather than tension?
What practical steps can I take toward greater integration?

Following Jesus forward rarely looks impressive in the moment. More often, it is lived out in the ordinariness of daily intimacy with Christ, attentiveness at home, and the courage to resist fragmented lives. Jonathan and Angela’s story reminds us that discipleship is not something we fit around family, but something we practise together—holding our calling with open hands and trusting obedience to bear fruit in God’s time.

`To find out more about the Follow Forward Podcast, click here.
To listen to Jonathan and Angela’s interview, choose your preferred platform: YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.