John grew up as a pastor’s kid in Nebraska and South Dakota, but didn’t come to faith in Jesus Christ until midway through his three-year tour in the US Army as a Combat Engineer. After the Army and a year of working commercial construction, he left for Reformed Bible College (now Kuyper College) in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he met his soon-to-be wife Amy and graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Bible and a minor in New Testament Greek.
After college John worked for two years as a carpenter building houses, and then John and Amy served several years in full-time Christian camping, which is when they started raising a family. John and Amy moved to the Spearfish area in 2000, which is where they’ve lived ever since, other than one year in Louisville, KY while John took classes at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.
When they first moved to Spearfish, John started a construction company building and remodeling homes, which he did until 2011, when he transitioned to building websites full-time as Black Hills Web Works, which is still his “day job.”
Believing that God works through his Word by his Spirit, John’s goal in life is to be a faithful Bible expositor, and he’s grateful to have the opportunity to pursue that goal as a pastor-elder at Sojourn.
John and Amy have four adult daughters, two of whom are married, and one grandson!
John recently re-discovered motorcycling, and when he’s not working or studying, there’s a good chance he’s out on a long ride in the Black Hills on his Triumph Tiger, contemplating next Sunday’s sermon and praying for the congregation of Sojourn Church. You can follow his motorcycle adventures on his personal blog.