By Michael Gryboski, Editor Monday, November 24, 2025

Michael Youssef, founding pastor of the Church of the Apostles in Atlanta, Georgia, has announced that he will resign from that role to pursue other ministry work.

In a statement Sunday, the best-selling author said he will step down as pastor of Church of the Apostles next summer to dedicate more time to his global ministry organization, Leading The Way.

Youssef's youngest son, Jonathan, will take over as lead pastor at Church of the Apostles. The announcement was also made at the annual congregational meeting and has been in the works for the past few years.

"Now that God has raised up my son Jonathan to lead The Church of The Apostles for its next stage of growth, I will be devoting my full attention to Leading The Way," said Youssef.

"I am deeply thankful to the Lord and know that the best is yet to come. I am also deeply grateful to The Church of The Apostles' leadership for inviting me to remain in the church as the 'Founding Rector Emeritus' — thus helping to ensure continuity."

Youssef said he wants "to take as many people to heaven with me as possible" and that "we don't know how long the door is going to remain open to proclaim the Gospel in the places where we are ministering."

"So, I'm really putting my foot on the accelerator now," he added. "We would love to walk through those open doors as long as God keeps them open. Because if we go to sleep, we will have missed a great opportunity."

Born in Egypt in 1948, Youssef became a Christian at age 16 in 1964. According to his official biography, he earned degrees from Moore College of Sydney, Australia; Fuller Theological Seminary of California; and a doctorate in cultural anthropology from Emory University.

Youssef founded Church of the Apostles in 1987. The congregation grew from approximately 40 members to more than 3,000.

In 1988, Youssef launched Leading The Way, a radio ministry based in Atlanta that grew into a global multimedia ministry available in 28 languages and reportedly viewed by tens of millions on a weekly basis.

"Today, the ministry continues to leverage cutting-edge technology to passionately proclaim the uncompromising Truth of Christ through every available means — from Evangelistic Celebrations to podcasts to our Awake America prayer movement and more," stated the ministry's website.

"The result? Lives changed. Families transformed. Cities and villages awakened. This is the power of the Gospel."  

Youssef told The Christian Post last month that his heart is burned for the next generation to step into leadership roles. 

"I'm seeing it even in our own church," he said at the time. "The younger generation is into technology, and I'm bringing them into leadership now, not waiting until they get older."

Jonathan Youseff, 41, now shares the pulpit at Church of the Apostles and has been "preaching more and more," the father said. 

"We're raising up the next generation. I tell them, 'You have to carry the baton. You can't wait until we're gone,'" he said. "We don't want to be the generation with whom the Gospel dies."

News Source : https://www.christianpost.com/news/michael-youssef-to-step-down-as-pastor-focus-on-other-ministry.html