How do you say, "I love Jesus!" and "I love people" and wrap it all up into a vocation.  For Jake Ritzema it was in becoming a pastor.  First stop, he was a one year interim to his original home church in Fulton, "1st CRC."  1st was just a short stop on the road to become the pastor of Grace Valley.  What a wonderful journey it's been, serving a church that has a real passion for Christ and for community. Here's his short bio:

As a child, Jake emigrated from the Netherlands with his family and settled in Fulton, IL.  After graduating from Dordt College in Sioux Center, IA in 1974, Jake returned to Fulton and spent over 25 years in sales and marketing in a variety of settings including the restaurant, insurance, funeral, sporting goods, and recycling fields.  11 years were spent as a marketing director for an organization serving the needs of people with disabilities.

In the late 90's God called Jake into ministry.  He has completed some graduate work at Wheaton Graduate College in Theological and Biblical studies. In 2001 he was approved for ordination in the CRC by Classis Northern Illinois and the Synod of the Christian Reformed Church of North America.

Although Pastor Jake's path into ministry has been atypical, his experience connecting with people on many levels and a variety of settings has allowed him the opportunity to meet people's needs in many different situations.

He has a huge passion for the Lord (Gal. 2: 20) and is a true people person.  Not only was he a college cheerleader, but he considers himself a "cheerleader for Christ!"  His heart is for the church to be an active, vibrant body of believers who love their Triune God above everything else and to show that love in tangible, concrete ways to their "neighbors".

Experiencing and sharing Christ's Amazing Grace is Grace Valley and Jake"s ministry in a nutshell.

Pastor Jake and his wife, Priscilla reside in Byron, IL.  They have 3 married children and 3 grandchildren.