Pastor Jake was on staff at his first ministry placement at Ransom Church in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, from 2016-2019. Jake always had a passion for college students, the university, and the pursuit of learning. In the summer of 2019, Jake was offered a position to work for the School of Theology & Ministry at Indiana Wesleyan University, where he would teach theology, train ministry students, and assist with recruitment initiatives. Jake took the offer, and he and his wife, Kasey, moved to Indiana in the Fall of 2019.

Then the pandemic hit. In the midst of vast amounts of uncertainty and stay-at-home orders, this brought Jake into the worst season of anxiety and depression he ever experienced. It was during the early stages of the pandemic that led them to reassess their priorities. They were expecting their first daughter at the time, so moving back home to South Dakota to be near Kasey’s family became vastly important. Furthermore, Jake was deeply missing pastoring in the local church, a call placed on his life for 10 years at that point.