Dr. Jonathan Kelber was born and raised in Southern California as an only child in a family that celebrated both Jewish (father’s family is Jewish) and Christian (mother’s family is Christian) holidays. While he was taught moral and ethical principles during his early childhood, he doesn’t remember hearing a clear message of the Christian Gospel, and his upbringing certainly wasn’t rooted in the Bible.
Dr. Kelber became a Christian in 1998 – this transition had a very positive impact on his life, and was the result of important events and relationships that shaped his thinking throughout the ’90’s. One of the most influential factors in his faith journey was the realization that God was the perfect “Father” – for him, this concept was both comforting and transforming. He met his wife, Julie, in 2000, with whom he had the privilege of sharing the Christian Gospel – she became a Christian in 2001 and they married in 2003. They welcomed their first son Miles in 2009 and their second Luke in 2011. In 2004, they moved to San Diego, California so he could pursue a doctorate in Biochemistry at University of California San Diego (UCSD) and The Salk Institute. After completing graduate school and an additional three plus years of postgraduate training, they relocated to Northridge, California in 2012 where he began his own research lab as an Assistant Professor of Biology at Cal State Northridge (CSUN). In this capacity, he also taught upper division and graduate courses in cell, molecular and cancer biology.
In his free time, he likes to surf and train for triathlons (he races in one or two events each year). As a family, they attend Community Christian Alliance Church (CCAC) in Northridge where jonathan serves on the worship team and his wife serves in the AWANA program. They have a real passion and heart for supporting mission work – their previous church in San Diego (Clairemont Emmanuel Baptist Church) played a big role in helping them grow to have a heart for those who have never heard of Jesus Christ. In 2014, they have already made plans to serve on the mission committee at CCAC and look forward to seeing what lies ahead for them in that ministry.
Proverbs 21:5 “The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty.”