Get To Know Jake Anthony
We are excited to announce that Jake Anthony, who currently serves as a deacon at Grace Church Hewitt, will be transitioning to Waco early this summer to help lead our college ministry as Deacon of College. Jake will be replacing our friend Chase Strickland, who is moving out of state to be closer to family.
Jake is very familiar with Baylor and Waco, having been a student himself and graduating in 2019. He is also familiar with our church, joining Grace in college before making the step to move to Hewitt to help with the church plant there. After completing a ministry residency and serving in various capacities in Hewitt, we believe Jake will be a great fit for future of our church. Both Pastor Buck and Pastor Drake know Jake well as a friend and are eager to work with him in a ministry context. In the next few months, Jake will be transitioning into membership at our church, entering our deacon training and assessment process, and preparing to begin in his new role by shadowing Chase and meeting students and church members.
Get to know Jake
Tell us a little about yourself. Where are you from? How long have you been in Waco? What is your work and educational background?
I grew up in the Ft. Worth area (Keller, TX) my whole life. I’m going on 7 years now in Waco! I came to Waco in 2015 for my freshman year at Baylor and graduated in 2019 with my BBA in Accounting. I attended Grace’s ministry residency from ’19–’21, with my first year being a joint residency between Grace Waco and Grace Hewitt. For this past year I have served as a pastoral assistant to Pastor Michael Visy at Grace Hewitt. Since ’19, I have been attending The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary as an online student, and I will soon graduate with my MDiv. in Christian Ministry.
Tell us about your desire to pursue vocational ministry. When did you sense God leading you to service in the church? What has that looked like so far?
God converted me in the October of my freshman year of college. For the first two years as a new Christian, I began to grow in my understanding of the Scriptures, what living the Christian life looked like, and the significance of church community. Through conversations with my pastors and friends between my sophomore and junior year, right before I planned to start my accounting classes, God created in me a strong urge to be with the church in some capacity after graduating. I went with the core team to plant Grace Hewitt in 2018 as my love for the church continued to grow. Through my first year as a resident, that seedling of an aspiration to “be with the church” sprouted into a deep, continuing love for God’s people and a growing desire to be a pastor. So far, much of my service to Grace Hewitt church has been in my two years as a resident and this last year as a pastoral assistant. Likewise, I have served as our deacon of member care since ’20.
What excites you in the opportunity to serve our church in this way? What are you most looking forward to?
Grace Waco is a biblical, mature, committed group of Christians. And to now return to this church body, where I first became a Christian, displays the kindness of God’s providence. I trust in the sufficiency of Christ to build his church, and through your support, I am excited to serve Grace Waco’s college students. My hope is that, from their first to fourth year here, they will be able to say of me, “I imitate Jake as he imitates Christ” (1 Cor 11:1). My excitement abounds for the ways that Christ will continue to strengthen this church body.
How can we support you in helping you to integrate into our church family? How can the whole church be involved in the discipleship of college students? How can we be praying for you and the college ministry?
To help me integrate into Grace Waco, I simply ask that you reach out to me. To disciple our college students, reach out to them, too! My formation as a college student by the families and couples that brought me into their lives is incommunicable. Pray that God would bring salvation to students. Pray that their time in this church body would be marked by a commitment to spiritual discipline, an increasing knowledge of Christ, and a love for his church. Pray that I would model Christ to our students by my conduct, speech, and heart of service.
Please pray for Jake and Chase, that this transition would be smooth and God-honoring, a blessing for our students and our church. If you have any questions, please reach out to drake@gracewaco.com. You can contact Jake at jake@gracewaco.com.