He was a highly underappreciated daycare worker of 4-5 year olds, among 40 other employees (all women). In the Spring of 1990, the Lord worked to bring Jeff back to Victory. He fled from the circumstances he was in and came up to work at the camp, under his dad. As it was, so did his future wife, Julie, come to the camp at that time to work for Mr. Wagner. He stayed all summer and worked as a counselor. In the lifeguard training session, he traveled to Kenai where the Lord had him meet, Paul Manweller a devoted servant of Jesus. The Word of the Lord began to move in Jeff’s heart. In the Fall, Jeff decided to attend the Alaska Bible College in Glennallen, AK. It was there the Lord took the scales from his eyes, and showed Jeff his desperate need of a Savior and that is the One, Jesus Christ, whom he had heard of all his life. He too became a devoted follower of the Lord Jesus.

Jeff graduated with a BA in Christian Education in 1995. The college’s unwritten motto was, “A ring by Spring, or your money back.” At least that was the joke on campus. But as it turned out Jeff married Julie in the Spring of 1991. They had to take a year off to work and save enough money to return to school. Then they returned to live on campus. Jeff took whatever jobs the Lord gave him to provide for his needs: cook, hospital maintenance chief, and weather observer. And in 1996, the Lord brought him up to Fairbanks to teach at Lighthouse Community Christian School in the 7th and 8th grades. Upheaval in that school, lead to the founding of Frontier High School (FHS). A non-profit private high school, Jeff was the head teacher/ principal. He taught all four grade levels in History, English and various electives from 1997-2010. He was also the boys basketball coach for the school 6 years.

Salcha Baptist Church was our fellowship and instruction for the first eight years while living in Fairbanks. Jeff’s commitment to the school involved many weekends out of town. But the body of Christ in Salcha was who we belonged to. With the pastor being his best friend, Jeff vowed to the Lord and his friend that if he was ever asked to preach for him, he would say, “Yes.” That was because he knew if left to the moment, he would give in to the fear of discomfort and say, “No.” But the Lord honored that desire to be obedient. Jeff taught several Sunday school classes; evening services; and many Sunday morning sermons during that time.

Then one day at the end of a Spring, school day, Jeff got a call from Jim Harris of University Park Bible Church (UPBC). They were asking him to fill in the pulpit while their committee searched for a new pastor. The vow he had made came to his mind, but he admitted that there was more of an excitement in his heart as he considered this opportunity from the Lord. He talked to the elders in Salcha and they were in agreement. So for that summer, Jeff taught the word every Sunday from the pulpit at University Park Bible Church’s service of worship. He quickly discovered that he was challenged by the preaching as opposed to teaching. He was used to the benefits of feedback from the students. But Jeff was always one to rise to a challenge. The Fall came, and teaching at the school and preaching each Sunday took increased amounts of study time.

It was at that time the church asked Jeff to stay on as “part time” pastor. The elders in Salcha prayed with and for us, and we accepted the position as the opportunity for good works God had prepared for us. Jeff has been preaching and pastoring in this gathering since 2004. His commitment to the Word of God has lead him to teach through whole books including: Isaiah, I Peter, James, Ephesians, Malachi, and more. He is currently going through Genesis.

Part time pastor, did not exist in the vocabulary of the college. It was obviously a fulltime job. But, just as Paul worked as a tent maker so that he would not be a burden to the churches, so Jeff works fulltime to support his family. During our time with UPBC, the Lord has blessed us with three children. Solomon (11), Irene (9), and Isabella (7) are all homeschooled while helping to take care of the small farm we live on. It was during the premature birth of Isabella that Jeff was motivated to stop teaching at FHS. Since then his work has been in construction (log homes), farming, and logging. Currently he logs in the winter and is building in the summer. He is part owner of Polar Run Logging, and his business partners are also followers in the Lord, so they are gracious to give him time off to minister to the needs of the body.