Pastor John Harris

Pastor John Harris of Orlando, Florida, was welcomed into the gates of heaven on January 31, 2025, surrounded by his family and close friends. He was 82.

A proud Welshman, he was born to Richard and Dulcie Harris on March 5, 1942, and was raised in Newbridge, Wales alongside his sisters Rhyanon and Anita. He attended Newbridge School before going to work in the coal mines at the age of 15. He served in the Royal Air Force from 1958 to 1964, during which time he met the love of his life, Dawn Mildred Harris (née Shaw), to whom he was married for 60 years.

He gave his life to Christ at the age of 16 and was called to ministry in his late 20s, choosing to leave a successful career in insurance to answer God’s calling on his life. John spent the next decade ministering as a pastor at Kensington Temple and working with Life For the World Trust, a recovery ministry housed in a 50-room 17th century estate. He eventually served as the head of Pye Barn Trust, also a drug rehabilitation ministry, where Dawn served by his side.

In the early 1980s John started working with Chuck Colson’s Prison Fellowship and moved back to Portsmouth in the south of England, where he also served on staff at a local church. In 1984, he and his dear friend Terry Wiseman founded Staffwise to connect contractors with manufacturers, and in 1988 they brought Staffwise USA to Orlando, where he would find his second home.

He became actively involved in the ministry at First Baptist Church Orlando and would go on to join the staff as men’s minister in the early 1990s. He would later serve Downtown Baptist Church alongside his friend Jim Henry as associate pastor, overseeing senior adults and pastoral care, and served a similar role in the last years of his life at First Baptist Church Winter Garden. Throughout all his years of ministry, Dawn was his faithful partner and biggest supporter.

John was a man of immense faith, and he was deeply committed to the ministry of prayer. He remained involved in various ministries throughout his life, including Bridges International, a drug treatment program, and New Missions, which works to plant churches and schools in Haiti and the Dominican Republic. He went on numerous mission trips throughout his life, including to Kenya and the Philippines.

An avid golfer, he enjoyed many years as a member at the Bay Hill Club. He and Dawn were proud to become American citizens in 2009. He loved travelling Europe and trips to his cabin in Georgia, fine food, and being with his friends and family. Of all his many accomplishments, nothing made him prouder than his role as a husband, father, and grandfather.

John is preceded in death by his parents and his sister, Rhyanon. He is survived by his wife, Dawn; his children, Rebecca (Simon) Wallis and Matthew Harris; his grandchildren, Jonathan, Olivia, Isabella, and Emma; and his sister, Anita (Peter) Blanchett.

A service to celebrate his life will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, February 8 in the Henry Chapel at First Baptist Orlando, 3000 S. John Young Parkway. It will also be available for livestreaming at www.tinyurl.com/RJHfuneral

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that gifts be made to the Humble Hands ministry at First Baptist Orlando or 4Given Ministries, a prison ministry led by his friend John Watson.

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