photo by CAROL SHETLER/The Luminary Board members of Montgomery's Clinton Baptist Church celebrating their pastor's recent ordination include (Front left to right): Susan Weller, June Snyder, Gerald Ranch. (Row 2): David Baysore, Lisa Jacobs, the Reverend David Jacobs, Ben Weller. (Row 3): Roberta McClintock, Judy Yocum, Ric Williams and Terece Williams.

MONTGOMERY – From his teenage years to his recent ordination as an American Baptist Minister serving the Clinton Baptist Church in Montgomery, the Reverend David Jacobs shared his story of the long journey.

Jacobs, a Newberry native, said that, ” I was in my junior year at Wiliamsport High School when I first felt a very strong call to vocational ministry. For about five years I resisted enrolling at Mansfield University earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice Administration.”

Jacobs did not see himself in that occupation, and so with his wife, the former Lisa Owens of Watsontown, the couple fasted and prayed for God’s direction during their first year of marriage.

“The decision to go to the Seminary began a whirlwind of change in our lives. My wife and I resigned our jobs, moved to Lynchburg, Virginia where I was accepted to Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary (now Liberty University School of Divinity), and she was hired as a high school mathematics teacher,” Jacobs said.

Clinton Baptist is the couple’s first full time pastoral position, and Jacobs noted what he describes as “God’s sense of humor.”

For three years, the couple diligently sought positions in churches anywhere from Texas to the west, to New York and Alabama with no results. “However, when the time was right, and although we had applied all over the country, God brought Clinton Baptist Church and us together. The move positioned us just 10 mile up the road from where we were living at the time,” Jacobs said. The congregation affirmed Jacobs’ call when they chose him as pastor in September of 2012. “It was nice that God chose to send us to a church in our local community; it’s a ‘hometown’ blessing for both of us,” Jacobs said.

In July, the couple celebrated a 10th wedding anniversary and additions to their family include daughters Cassidy, age seven, and five year old Elliana.

The pastor’s favorite hymn is “It is Well with my Soul,” a song whose writer lost four daughters during an ocean voyage. “I appreciate the idea that no matter what we face in life, no matter how difficult it can get, or how joyful it might become, in the midst of it all, we can say, ‘It is well with my soul.’ ” Jacobs continued by saying, “Life really has a way of going from the highs to the lows, but through it all, God is still faithful. If we let Him, we can make it through the hardships and be drawn more closer to Him than when we began.”

Jacob’s favorite verses come from I Peter 5:6 which he cites as encouraging. “Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time.”

The pastor also completed the following studies: Master of Arts in Theological Studies; Master of Religious Education emphasis in Discipleship; and Master of Divinity in Theology and Apologetics.