Welcome to the Pioneers in Health podcast. In this podcast, we share inspiring stories of pioneering leaders from our nation and from your backyard who are working to improve health.

In episode 29, we interview Johnathan Sublet, founder and executive director at SENT Topeka. SENT Topeka is a non-profit organization dedicated to fostering holistic community development in Shawnee County. It was established in 2018, and his team has worked tirelessly to address pressing issues facing the community, ranging from education and business development to safe housing and mental health services. He also serves as the lead servant pastor at Fellowship Hi-Crest Church.

In this episode, Johnathan discusses the organization he founded and the journey his life has taken.

He discusses his childhood and how that influenced his later path in life. He grew up one of three children in an under-resourced community in Texas with a single mother. She worked long hours as a grocery-store clerk until receiving her GED when Johnathan was in sixth grade. She was then able to obtain a Nurse Aid Certificate, and their life improved some until she became disabled and life became more challenging again.

“It was really both school and church that were my way out of my neighborhood,” he said. “I grew up around a lot of violence. A lot of my friends died. I think out of my sixth-grade class, me and maybe one of my friends were maybe the only two males that don’t have a criminal history if that tells you anything.”

He considers himself fortunate that he was able to graduate from high school and then pursued a chemical engineering degree at the University of Tulsa. On his first day of his new job as a chemical engineer, he was invited to a Bible study. That led to him taking a free course to study the Bible, and he fell in love. He dove deep into church involvement, serving in any capacity he could. The church members became his family, teaching him life skills and offering support and celebration of achievements.

“It was so much a part of my life that engineering was a barrier to me doing more, and then I raised missionary support and walked away from my engineering career,” Johnathan said.

He shares how that decision changed the trajectory of his life and how he ultimately ended up founding SENT Topeka, which provides a broad range of support and action to improve the social determinants of health in Shawnee County. He also discusses how he intentionally founded the organization as a non-religious, non-profit.

“We don’t have to put Christian on the front of things in order to live out what’s at our core,” he said.

He also discusses:

• Challenges he’s faced during his life and career
• What led him to ministry and attending the Dallas Theological Seminary
• How he landed in Topeka
• Why he founded SENT Topeka and its mission and work
• How his faith guides him
• How his organization helps connect people to health care, housing and food assistance and more
• Efforts to develop affordable housing
• How his background in chemical engineering still helps him today
• What gives him hope

And much more! Listen now, and learn more about how Johnathan is an innovative leader in health care.

Listen now

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