Ministry: Andrea loves teaching God’s Word, getting to know people, and seeing them give their lives to Jesus – growing in their walk with Him. "Every day is a bit different in the life of a pastor and I find that the challenges and joys of ministry enrich my life"

History/Family: Andrea Jakobsons was born in the Czech Republic and moved to the US when she was 15 years old, knowing only two words in English: Yes and No. Her family moved to Michigan to Andrews University, which is also where she met her husband Michael. After many years of running away from God’s call to ministry, she enrolled in the seminary and has since served as a Bible teacher at Andrews Academy, a youth pastor at Spencerville, MD and now a lead pastor at Kettering, OH. 

Hobbies: Besides doing ministry, she loves art, Pure Barre, hiking, biking, and snowboarding in the winter. She loves snow so much that Michael proposed to her outside, in the snow, in January.

Ministry:  Clay loves working with kids–helping them fall in love with Jesus, teaching them how to start and keep their friendship with Jesus strong, and empowering them to serve others. He loves creativity and saturating children and family ministries with it!  

History/Family: Clay was born in Malaysia and moved to California at age 3. Being a half Indian and half Chinese Asian American Spanish-speaker, he loves the beauty of diversity and celebrating the unique differences that each member brings to the body of Christ. Clay has a beautiful and amazingly creative wife named Lindsay and two effervescent little ones named Caden & Eden with a third one on the way.  

Hobbies: Clay enjoys any creative pursuit including event planning, thematic design of spaces, watercolor painting, chalkboard calligraphy, etc.  He's an avid ukulele player, fusion cook/baker, and loves kayaking on the Great Miami River near his home in Miamisburg and swimming at one of the local YMCAs.  A perfect morning for Clay would include a hand-crafted tea latte, journaling, and swinging in a hammock!

Ministry: Alden has always had a passion for ministry and loves serving the local church. As a worship leader, he has primarily devoted himself to creating authentic spaces for people to worship and experience Jesus. In a postmodern world, Alden hopes to bring the gospel to a new generation of seekers.

History/Family: Alden is a first generation Mexican/American born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona. He was born into a pastors family, and is a younger brother to his older sister. Alden served in many different churches as a worship leader/pastor before he accepted God’s call into full-time ministry. He is currently in school at Andrews University where he continues to seek God’s plan.

Hobbies: Apart from his passion for music, Alden is a part time barista and enjoys playing soccer and watching new movies and TV shows. He loves hanging out with friends, going on camping/hiking trips, and exploring new cities.

Ministry: Jon loves seeing teams come together for a common goal for the gospel. He believes the beauty of the church is when all generations and backgrounds come united under the Great Commission, to lift Jesus high. The beauty about pastoral ministry is how it intersects with everyone’s life. Whether it be a special occasion or the simple day to day, Jon believes everyday we need to be reminded of God’s great love for us.

History/Family: Jon is a local boy, born and raised in the Dayton area, and grew up in the Kettering Church family. Together, with his wife Katelyn, Kettering was their spiritual home that shaped and nurtured them growing up. They have two children, Isaiah and Evelyn.  

Jon decided to pursue his engineering degree, but quickly realized his call and passion to become a pastor in the Adventist church. Jon and his family have served together in ministry for several years in Florida as an associate pastor in Orlando, and as a senior pastor in Clearwater. At this moment, life has come full circle for both Jon and Kate as they bring their family back to the church where they grew up, to pursue God’s calling and ministry. For them, they hope to draw our church family closer to Jesus in the same way the church formed him in his ministry.

Hobbies: Jon enjoys playing baseball, football, golf, hiking, biking, and reading a good leadership book.  He also loves dreaming about the farm he aspires to have one day, and he has a love for historical tractors (I know, I'm crazy).

Ministry: Linda loves people. She cherishes engagement with our congregation at the sacred intersections of life, illness, death, vulnerability, crisis, loss, the celebrations of special moments of new discoveries in walking with God, or exploring meaning and purpose in life story experiences. Linda’s days are filled with phone calls, home visits, Zoom prayer meetings, Sabbath School classes, involvement in the inter-church Golden Buckeyes, educational opportunities, visitation team organization and support, networking with the leaders of the various ministries and community, as needs arise.  

History/Family: Linda and her husband, Jerry blended their families after losing their beloved previous spouses. That blend gave them three sons, their spouses, and eight grandchildren. Jerry encourages and strengthens Linda's ministry: “We share in love for God, family, and ministry.”

Hobbies: Traveling, visiting family stretched out from coast to coast, nature, piano, learning about floral design, walking, and swimming. (She is also currently enjoying learning social media skills. “My first hashtag, if I can get beyond Facebook, might say, ‘Finally, a hashtag!’”)

Ministry: Cristian has a passion to see the body of Christ grow in their relationship with God and has served the local church from a young age. He loves to lead worship, teach the word, spend time with his members, and he strives to be an example of what living out Christianity can look like.

History/Family: Cristian was born in Boston, MA, grew up in Atlanta, GA to a family of five from El Salvador. He is married to a beautiful young, aspiring Licensed Professional Counselor named Genesis who works for the Kettering Health Network.  Cristian loves writing and creating music for the church. He began his music ministry at a young age. He has recorded 4 albums, and has featured or helped to produce countless other projects. He experienced the joy of seeing people surrender to Christ during his concerts, and witnessed the miracle of new birth through baptisms and those experiences solidified Cristian’s decision to pursue his calling in ministry. “My greatest passion is to be able to reach souls for Jesus Christ. Every song/sermon that I write, every lyric that I sing, I pray can be used to transform lives through the Holy Spirit.”

Hobbies: Cristian enjoys playing basketball & soccer. He has played those sports throughout his life, and always keeps an eye out for local leagues. He loves creating and producing music. He recently has picked up weight lifting and running in his free time.

Ministry: The role of Director of Worship and the Arts is a unique opportunity to usher community into the Presence of God. It's that enabling power of God's direction inside those moments of connection which Jeremy finds most joy in during each gathering. "Each day my work is to survey the gifts in this community and determine how they can best be used to worship God."

Family: Jeremy is from Philadelphia, PA and is married to Angelique Winston. He is also father to three girls: Jordyn, Joelle and Jada.
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Hobbies: Apart from his first love of music, Jeremy also enjoys playing basketball and squash, reading, listening to music, and playing chess.

Ministry: Rachel Spry Lammi, MM, CAGO, serves as organist and collaborative accompanist for the Adult and Children’s Choirs. An advocate for passing on the art of organ playing, she is chair of the Dayton Organ Academy.  This academy is a service of the Dayton Chapter of the American Guild of Organists to give qualifying students scholarships to study organ.

Family/History: A native of Tipp City, Ohio, Rachel has been leading congregational song and uplifting spirits through music professionally since age 15 when she became organist at her home church. Rachel holds a Masters of Sacred Music from Duquesne University. She lives in Vandalia with her husband, Pastor Kurt Lammi, their daughter Rose, and cat Wanda.
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Hobbies: Beyond organ and teaching, Rachel enjoys singing, playing clarinet and the occasional percussion instrument for Praise Orchestra, composing, reading, painting, swimming, and gardening.