James’ Testimony
I was born in September of 1983 in Iowa City, Iowa. My parents were hard working and taught me many things from a very young age. When I was 3 years old, my mom married my dad and he adopted me. I grew up working with him roofing and framing, cutting firewood and anything else he could do to make or save us some money. I also had 5 uncles and grandparents who taught me a lot about construction and cars. I have had the pleasure of doing many jobs in my life most of which were in the construction field. After I graduated high school I went into a carrier in the fire service and was a full time fireman for 5 years. It was through this job that I met Pastor Adam Pierce, who had moved his family from Florida to start a church in southern Iowa. I was born again on July 13, 2007 and was a charter member of Cornerstone Baptist Church in Afton, Iowa. Immediately after getting saved I felt the call to preach God’s word. Serving in a small church gave me many opportunities to be a blessing. We purchased an old Kum and Go building for our services. Our church members did much of the work themselves to remodel it and make it a fit place to worship our Lord. Through many trials and tribulations our small church disbanded and I found myself back home in central Iowa. It was here at Fellowship Baptist Church in Marshalltown, Iowa that I went through probably the most difficult time of my life. My wife had passed away due to breast cancer and I was now faced with raising three children on my own. But God is so good. Romans 8:28 says “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” Just like with Job, God reached down and brought me out of the despair and showed me that I could always depend on Him. It was here at Fellowship that God would introduce me to my lovely wife Rachel Jessup. We were married in May of 2013 and began serving in our church. In 2016, through the Dr. and Mrs. Jessup, I was introduced to Pastor Noel Cwenar and Gospel Light Baptist Church in Rogers, AR. While helping with the building project at Gospel Light in 2017 I was introduced to a missionary family with Independent Baptist Builders. It was then that God reminded me of all the skills and abilities He had taught me through the years. That is when God made it clear that He wanted us to enter full time ministry and use the skills, abilities, and gifts that He gave us to further His gospel. After much prayer we have asked to join IBB because we see the need and can fill the gap. We look forward to serving our brethren and our Great Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
“Now set your heart and your soul to seek the LORD your God; arise therefore, and build ye the sanctuary of the LORD God” 1 Chronicles 22:19a“
Rachel’s Testimony
I was born in Dryden, Ontario Canada. My parents, Dr. and Mrs. Earl Jessup, were missionaries to Canada. I grew up under the preaching of the Word of God, and made a profession of faith when I was 5 years old. I was involved in the youth group, teen outreach program, and bus ministry. It was during my teen years that I started to doubt my salvation. I was embarrassed to say that I didn't know for sure where I was going to spend eternity, so I pushed the feelings aside telling myself that the Devil was just trying to trick me. It wasn't until my junior year at West Coast Baptist College that I finally put those doubts to rest and received the Lord as my personal Savior. After college I taught second grade at First Baptist Church and School in Rosemount, MN. At the end of that school year my Dad fell off a ladder ending up seriously injured. I decided that my mom would need extra help taking care of him. In January, Dad had healed enough for me to feel comfortable going on a missions trip to Scotland for three months. I was extremely thankful for this missions trip, and was sad to leave. After returning home, I sent my teaching resume to a Christian school in Tennessee. I was hired on at South Haven Christian School in Springfield, TN to teach 3rd grade. I taught there for 5 years and felt the need for a change. God was working in my life and leading me to work outside the Christian school. It was during this year that the Lord brought James and his sweet family into my life. In May 2013 we were married and moved to the Marshalltown, Iowa area. We served in our church wherever there was a need: music, repairs, Patch club, and nursing home. We loved our busy and ministry filled life, but felt the Lord leading us to do more. We began to pray that God would show us where He wanted us to serve. After a few months of prayer and searching, the Lord led us to Gospel Light Baptist Church and their building project. This is where we felt the peace that only God gives. He was calling us to be builders, builders for Independent Baptist Churches all over the country. Our family is extremely excited to start this new adventure and to see how the Lord is going to be praised through this ministry.
