Ronald (RJ) Orason

junior high Pastor

RJ was born in Slidell, Louisiana on February 16, 1994 to parents Ron and Kathy Orason. He has two brothers, Michael and Mitchell. At the time his dad was a Chief in the Navy. In 1996 his dad received orders to San Diego and the family moved to Oceanside. RJ was raised in the Catholic Church, and as a child, thought all he had to do to go to heaven was to be a good person. However, the family stopped going to church, and when he learned he wasn’t a good person, he tried even harder to earn his salvation.

This changed when a friend, Brock, invited him over for a sleepover and bribed him to go to church with the promise of soda, donuts, and billiards. At church, RJ learned it wasn’t being a good person that saved you, but that Jesus was the perfect person and only by putting your faith in His death and resurrection could anyone be saved. However, he wasn’t ready to accept that truth. But this didn’t stop Brock from praying for him every day to give his life over to the Lord. RJ desired to go back to church after that visit, but for one reason or another, he couldn’t go. 

Two years later, when he was in 8th grade, he learned the neighbors across the street also went to church and he asked if he could go with them. To his shock, it was the same church his friend Brock had taken him to years earlier. He started attending weekly, getting rides with his neighbors and it was on December 21, 2007, at a youth event called Massive Mall Hunt, that Brock’s prayers were finally answered when RJ gave His life to Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior.

RJ immediately began getting involved as much as possible in youth ministry. During his time in high school, he was discipled by Pastor Abel during weekend services, midweek services, and through meeting with accountability groups. After high school he began serving as a junior high leader while attending California State University in San Marcos (CSUSM). It was during this time that Pastor Pallotto offered RJ an internship at Calvary Chapel of Oceanside. He accepted the internship, transferring from CSUSM to finish his schooling at Mira Costa Community College. During his internship he focused his time in youth and children’s ministries, served as a benevolence counselor, in men’s ministry, and as needed in other areas of ministry.

Eighteen months later, RJ finished the internship, graduated from community college and was hired at CCO as the Foundations 5|6 Director.

However, this season came to abrupt stop when he broke his ankle while serving at a VBS. After a month of testing, it was confirmed that he had Ewing Sarcoma Bone Cancer. When he first discovered the news, he sat in his car, crying out, “WHY GOD?” It was there when the Lord clearly asked him, “RJ, do you trust me?” His response, “I do trust you, Lord; and if you can get glory out of this, I will go through it.” He immediately went to his church family, where the staff prayed with him. Having to step away from serving the children was a hard thing to do, but RJ. says it was through this trial that the Lord taught him about true joy and picking up his cross daily and following Jesus.

Finishing treatments for the cancer in June, 2016, RJ returned as a staff member of Calvary Chapel Oceanside and remains cancer free. He now serves as the Junior High Pastor, overseeing both the Foundations 5|6 and Fuel 7|8 Ministries. He considers it an honor to watch the students grow closer to Jesus Christ every day.