I grew up in rural eastern Kansas, and while my mother took my sister and me to church, the church was just a small part of our lives, and I was much more interested in other things. I barely read the Bible, didn’t understand the gospel, and wasn’t even sure if God was real. This continued until I was in high school, when for the next few years, I completely stopped attending church.

I met Jennifer when I was 23 years old, while working together in Lawrence, KS. Jennifer started talking to me about the Bible and about God, and I became more interested in Christianity, as God was drawing me to Himself. We started attending church together, and after hearing a few gospel-centered messages, I realized that I was an unsaved sinner in need of a Savior. I began turning away from my sins, as I put my trust in Christ, and in his death and resurrection. I then began really studying the Bible, and listening to sermons and Christian radio, as I felt my life had a new purpose: to know God and grow closer to Him every day.

In 2003, Jennifer and I were married, and we moved to South Dakota. We quickly started expanding our family, as our first child, Emily, was born in September 2004. In March of 2007, we were blessed with our first son, Isaac. We then decided that we would like to adopt a child, and were matched with Sam, whom we brought home from the Philippines in 2009. Things seemed to be going smoothly for our family, but then we were faced with some scary news in December 2011: Isaac was diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia (JMML). We went to hospitals in Sioux Falls and Minneapolis to give him the treatments needed to save his life (including a bone marrow transplant, with Emily as his donor), but the cancer proved to be too much for him, as he went home to be with the Lord on March 2, 2012.

This proved to be an extremely difficult time for our family, but we continued to look to the Lord, as well as good Christian friends, to help comfort us. God proved faithful and brought us through that storm. Our faith had been tested, but God’s love and grace kept us safe. Then in May of 2013, we were blessed with another son, Levi. Our family has had many ups and downs, but God has remained constant and faithful through it all. We know we can trust Him always.

Eventually, I began to wonder if God was calling me to go into full-time ministry. I decided to go through seminary training through Reformed Baptist Seminary, as well as a pastoral internship at our previous church in South Dakota. I began to have a greater passion for preaching & teaching God’s Word, as well as shepherding the flock. Other church members gave me encouragement that this seemed to be the right path for me to take.

Now that I’m serving as the pastor here at First Congregational Church, I continue to seek the Lord each day, while leaning on Him for wisdom and strength. Without Him, I can do nothing that has eternal value (Gal. 2:20). Soli Deo Gloria!

Pastor Aaron Thompson