Southeast Alaska Island Ministries

Captain Jim

When folks find out I grew up in Alaska, usually the first question they ask is something to the effect of, “How did you end up doing that?” After returning from Viet Nam for the second time my father put Alaska on his ‘dream sheet’. The Army stationed up in Ft. Wainwright, Alaska, just outside Fairbanks. He retired 3 years later at which time we moved to Anchorage where he was able to find employment.

I began going to church in Jr. High School as a bus kid in Anchorage, Alaska. There were many “professions” of faith when I was a teenager but no real change took place. I grew up in the youth department being told I was saved despite the conviction to the contrary. I was “called” to Bible College where I settled on a secondary ed. Teaching degree. While there, I met Becky and we were married in June of 1984. Upon securing a teaching position in a Christian School in Alaska, I continued to struggle with the inconsistency of my outward conformity to what I thought true Christianity was to the emptiness I felt and the lack of relationship I had with Jesus Christ. But I was told since I said the prayer I was saved, just not growing; which I see now as a gross misinterpretation of my circumstances. The Lord used an evangelist’s message from His Word to explain to me exactly what was the matter. I had trusted a prayer to save me instead of trusting Jesus to save me. Well, that made sense. I subsequently trusted Jesus as my Savior. Then and only then was there the power to live the life I had seen in others most of my life but was unable to live in my own. In a very short time all the head knowledge leaked down into my heart. God then called me into the ministry. But at that point I did not know in what capacity. I then to seminary to “get my preaching classes” and it was during that time that God called me and Becky into His service as missionaries. Some time later He lead us to the field of Alaska. We were approved as BBFI Missionaries in 1994. After 2 years of deputation we spend 1 ½ years in Nome covering the work there while the missionaries took a long awaited furlough. After that we moved to Sitka to start a church. It is now established. Now we begin our new itinerate church planting ministry.

First Mate Becky

I was raised in a Christian home. We were always in church. When I was five, my older sister got saved. I wanted to be just like her. So I went forward in church. I had never been to the front of the church and I looked around while the lady prayed with me. When I was seven my family moved to Springfield, Missouri to attend Baptist Bible College. I realized at the age of 11 that I had never trusted Christ to save me. I put off salvation for a good year. I had too much pride. My parents had attended Baptist Bible College, my mom worked at the church, what would people think. Finally when I was 12 I was so convicted that I didn’t care what people would think. I trusted Christ to save me. I had always been a “good” kid but there was a change. Later at a church camp I surrendered my life to missions. I wanted God to use me to win others. By the time I graduated from High School my thoughts were not on missions. I was still in church and serving God, but not totally committed. I went to a state university and received a degree in accounting in Springfield. I started dating Jim, who was attending BBC. He was majoring in Secondary Education. We married and moved to Anchorage where we both worked in the Christian school. I kept thinking, “This is ministry”. Jim came to me a few years later and said he felt called to missions. I had to then tell him I surrendered to Missions years ago. It is a blessing that God never gives up on us.