One of Dallas' most prominent mega-churches is preparing to chart a new course.

Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship will install a new senior pastor on Sunday, only the second in the church's nearly 50-year history. But it's a name the congregation and community know well: Jonathan Evans, the son of OCBF founding pastor, Dr. Tony Evans.

"So, I just want to do what I'm called to do," explained the incoming senior pastor, known around OCBF as "Pastor J".

Never dreamed of pursuing ministry full-time

Jonathan Evans said he had no intention of stepping into his father's famous shoes.

"So, I ran. I wanted to chart my own path. I just played sports, went to Baylor, played sports there, went to the NFL, tried that out," he said.

He said his parents never pressured him or his siblings to pursue full-time ministry.

"But when God comes and gets you, it's something you can't run from anymore," he said.

Still, the 44-year-old married father of five admits that he was stubborn and "limped into seminary."

Now, he's a pastor, published author, and will soon shepherd the church his father founded.

Stepping into his calling

"When you look at the whole of life," Jonathan Evans shared with quiet reflection, "God has been there the whole time getting me ready for what he's calling me to do."

"Could one ever be 'ready' for such a calling? Or is the mission to simply trust?" asked CBS News Texas reporter and anchor Robbie Owens.

"That's right," Jonathan Evans said.  "That's what faith is."

OCBF's mission

The younger Evans will be tasked with taking the nearly 8,000-member mega-church in a new direction. But he insists that Psalm 128 will remain the OCBF compass.

"We were raised on Psalm 128," he said.  "So, we have all of our members, 'Hey, go memorize Psalm 128 (Blessed are all who fear the Lord, who walk in obedience to him)'.  And so, the vision is the Kingdom agenda. My dad's vision was always the Kingdom agenda, the visible demonstration of the comprehensive rule of God over every area of life."

His vision for the church going forward, Jonathan Evans said, will be consistency in the midst of change.

"Wherever we go, God is supposed to rule that. And so, we want individuals to grow in their faith. We want families to be stabilized through the church. We want the community to be different. And so I want to make sure that every person that's on the team has an opportunity to put their hand in there, and we stack them and we break."

He also serves as the chaplain for the Dallas Cowboys. So, what else is in his playbook as he looks forward?

"So, while the vision is the same in terms of the Kingdom agenda, its administration will be different because it's just a new time and a different generation," said Jonathan Evans.

The Oak Cliff community can expect the church to remain an active presence, but Jonathan Evans said the congregation should also expect some changes.

"I'm saying it's not about me, and I'm saying it's not about any preacher. It is about God and one another. And if we're not coming to church for God and one another, then we're missing the point," he said. "I'm going to be preaching, but I may not be preaching as often as you saw my dad preaching. We have other ministers here who are really great preachers. And so we're going to be doing this together."

Outlook after father stepped away from church

OCBF's founder, Dr. Tony Evans, stepped away from the church last year, entering a self-imposed period of repentance and restoration. In October, he was restored to ministry in an emotional Sunday service, but chose to not return to church leadership.

"We're on the stage, I said, 'I'm proud of you because I got to watch you do what you preach'," recalled Jonathan Evans. "And it's one thing to preach it and exhort everybody else for restoration, for repentance.  But to take yourself through the exact same process you yourself have taken others through in our congregation, I think, is admirable. And it's something that I looked up to."

When asked what advice his father had shared as he prepared to take on this new calling, Jonathan Evans said, "Make sure you have the right people around you, make sure that you have people that can hold you accountable to what God has called you to do. He's told me to make sure you stay faithful to the word."

Dr. Tony Evans will remain a trusted advisor, but don't say that Jonathan Evans will be looking to fill his father's shoes.  He shared the words of his late mother, Lois Evans, rang clearly on that as well.

"She said, 'You know, your story and his story are not the same,'" Jonathan Evans said. "He's a ten and a half. I'm a 13! If I try to wear his shoes, it's going to crush my feet. I won't be able to walk in my calling. I won't be able to do what God has called me to do. And so, I take the blueprint and then allow God to use me the way that He made me. And that's all any person can do."

His father, Dr. Tony Evans, is slated to lead the installation services for his son at OCBF on Sunday, Dec. 7, at the 8 a.m. and 11 a.m. services.