Alaska – InterAct Ministries

Alaska

Alaska

Jon grew up in a strong Christian home and put his trust in Christ while very young. In 1994 he was baptized and committed to follow God with his life. His parents are missionaries and he was able to join them in ministry as God cultivated his heart for missions. MaryAnna trusted Christ as her personal Savior at the age of five. As she grew up and faced challenges in life she went through a time of questioning God’s existence. It was through this season that her faith was tested and solidified. In 9th grade she rededicated her life to God and chose to follow Him with her life.

Jon and MaryAnna have seven children and consider them to be their first ministry and other forms of ministry pour out from their family to those around them.

While attending Alaska Bible College from 2002-2006, they became active in praying for the villages in Alaska and were made aware of many of the needs off the road system. They heard of the drugs, alcohol and suicide, and especially noticed the high number of villages with no Christian families living in the communities. It was through this time that their hearts were drawn towards western Alaska.

The Casey’s moved to the village of Nulato, 300 miles west of Fairbanks on the Yukon River. Their hope is to live there long term where they can reflect Christ to those around them and encourage friends and neighbors as they serve God in Alaska.

Alaska

Carrie grew up in the heart of Wyoming and got saved at the young age of five. Since then, she has wanted others to know the joy of having Christ as their Savior. After reading many missionary biographies, she desired to become a missionary.

After attending Alaska Bible College, Carrie believed God wanted her to step out by faith and pursue missionary aviation training with Kingdom Air Corps. She moved to Alaska in 2015. Still knowing that being a pilot was not all God wanted her to do, Carrie wanted to use everything God had given her for His glory.

After much prayer and searching, she found that it was InterAct to which God was leading her. Carrie seeks to serve in recruitment for EnGage! (InterAct’s internship program) and be involved with encouragement and support for InterAct’s staff and like-minded ministries in Alaska. Philippians 1:20-21. Currently, Carrie serves at the Lazy Mountain Campus in Palmer, Alaska, with her ministry dog, Max.

Alaska

Toby and Cherie met at Alaska Bible College in 1989. Toby was from Wisconsin and Cherie was an Alaskan from north of Fairbanks. They married in the summer of 1990 and are blessed with two beautiful adult daughters. After starting and operating two small businesses, God called them to the mission field of Zambia, Africa, in 2014. They sold their company, raised support and spent three years serving at an orphanage in the Copper Belt region of northern Zambia. Toby and Cherie worked with farming, small business training, project development, teen mentoring and helping with a bush church plant near the Congo border. In 2020, God brought them off the African field and back to Alaska, where they were called to join InterAct Ministries at Lazy Mountain in Palmer as ministry coordinators.

Alaska

Aaron grew up in Santa Barbara, CA and graduated from LeTourneau University in 2016 with a bachelor’s degree in Missionary Aviation. Tisha was born and raised in Palmer, AK. She has worked in Galena and Port Alsworth with Alaska Native people. Aaron and Tisha met at Kingdom Air Corps, where Aaron was volunteering as a pilot mechanic, and Tisha was working on flight training. They were married during their three years of working at Tanalian Bible camp, then moved to Grayling with InterAct Ministries in August 2020. There they pastor the local church body and seek to bring the hope of Christ among Alaska Native people by building relationships and making reproducing disciples. Being the granddaughter of retired InterAct missionaries Gale and Jean Van Diest, Tisha is the second generation of Van Diests to work among Alaska Native people in Grayling.

Alaska

Jonathan and Amy DeVries’ mission is to glorify God by reaching the least-reached people groups of Alaska through aviation, hospitality and missionary support. They met at Kingdom Air Corp in Alaska in the summer of 2015. Amy was volunteering for the summer, and Jonathan came to teach flying for a few weeks. The two hit it off as both of their visions for ministry lined up. Ten months later, they were married. The next several years were spent in Anchorage, building experience in aviation and logistics while paying off the last of their school debt.

Jonathan and Amy now serve with InterAct as member support, with Jonathan heading up InterAct’s aviation program while living in Anchorage. The DeVries family uses their home as a pitstop where people can rest, regroup and gather supplies around town. They also serve as leaders of SonRise Community Church (a multicultural church in Anchorage). Above all, Jonathan and Amy seek to equip and encourage the missionaries of InterAct.

Alaska

Steve and Jill came into a personal relationship with God while in high school. They met in 1975 and were married in Rockford, Illinois, a year later. Steve’s educational focus has been in counseling, ministry and missions. Jill’s focus had been in education and leadership. She graduated with a M.A. of leadership from Trinity Western University in 2008. After joining the staff at Timber-Lee Christian Center in Wisconsin, they began a ministry focus on relational discipleship and program development. While in Wisconsin, they were a part of the team that planted the Southern Lakes Evangelical Free Church. In 1989 they joined InterAct and ministered in Alaska for two years and then transitioned to Canada, where they were blessed to live among the Chilcotin nation for twenty-one years. The Horsmans transitioned back to Alaska in 2013 to focus on equipping, facilitating and networking. Steve serves as the Alaska field director overseeing and leading the field. Jill serves as his assistant and works on ministry program development and implementation. Both also coordinate EnGage! Alaska and serve as Directors for LEaD Alaska, a residential discipleship ministry. Visit the Horsmans’ website.

Alaska

Jordan and Jessica grew up on the same street, went to school together from elementary through high school, and were married in 2007. They served with Ethnos Canada Indigenous Ministries for a short time, working with indigenous people under the title of Indigenous Church Engagement. They have five children and began a new role in 2021 with InterAct in Ruby, Alaska. The Martins will be working alongside Native believers and long to see a thriving church with believers who are growing ever closer to the Lord.

Alaska

Amy grew up in Pennsylvania and received a call into missions in college. In 1987 she went to the Philippines as a missionary to help start churches. After 23 years there, the Lord called her to Alaska and she began working in Kodiak with Filipinos. In 2022, Amy joined InterAct and continues to work in the Kodiak area with Filipinos and others; doing Bible studies, volunteer hospital chaplain, and jail ministry to name a few.

Alaska

Mark & Heather have been living and serving as missionaries in Alaska since 2003. They lived in the village of Old Harbor, on Kodiak Island, for 11 years. In 2015 God led them to the city of Kodiak, where they currently serve. Kodiak is the hub community on the island, so there are many opportunities to continue to reach out to those who live in outlying villages as they travel through Kodiak. Additionally, Mark serves as the pastor of Frontier Baptist Church, a role he’s been serving in since the end of 2017.

Mark & Heather’s children continue to be an integral part of the ministry as well. They also have two adult children, Josiah and Esther, who are both studying at Cedarville University to serve in Christian ministry as well!

Alaska

Jean and Ron met in 1967, married and have four children and 13 grandchildren. Both hail from New England but moved West and lived 30 years in Montana. They entered full-time ministry in 1993 after Ron graduated from Denver Seminary. In 2006 they answered the call to pastor a small church in a remote village on Kodiak Island, Alaska. Since that time, Alaska has become their preferred earthly home. After nine years on the island, they served a stint with a support ministry. In 2020, they joined InterAct, sensing a call back to rural pastoral ministry at Copper Center Community Chapel in the Alaska Native community of Kluti-Kaah in Copper Center, Alaska. Now in their 70s, they have no plans to retire and hope to finish their life of ministry among the Ahtna people of the Copper Center area.

Alaska

Chad and Andrea seek to make disciples through intimate relationships with the Alaska Natives of Copper Center, AK. Both Chad and Andrea were saved at a young age and developed a heart for missions before they knew each other. Andrea had been praying for God to show her where He wanted her to serve, and Chad had lived in a small village north of the Arctic Circle for a few months, where he developed a heart for the Native people of Alaska. After meeting in February 2013, they fell in love with each other’s hearts for serving God. They were married by November of that year and now have three beautiful children. In 2016 they began working towards their dream and goal of reaching the people of Alaska through InterAct. In August 2021, the Petersons arrived on the field in Copper Center.

Alaska

Dennis and Celesta met in Alaska while serving with InterAct Ministries. They were married in 1988 and served as church planters in the village of Grayling, Alaska. Since 2004, Dennis has served as the missionary-pastor of SonRise Community Church (SCC). SCC is a unique reflection of the urban area with ministries addressing the local community’s needs. As a certified biblical counselor, Dennis provides biblical counseling for individuals and families in the church as well as the Anchorage community. Celesta is involved in the music ministry, sharing her heart and home in discipleship ministry and can put together a great Sunday meal for the whole church.

Alaska

Alan is from Gabriola island off the British Columbia coast and Linda from Kenai, Alaska. Alan and Linda met in 1965 while both were attending Vancouver Bible Institute/College. They married in 1970. After completing the Missionary Development Program with InterAct, they were accepted as career missionaries in 1971, arriving in Alaska in 1973. They served on the Canadian field 10 years before moving to Kodiak in 1987 to begin a ministry among the Alutiiq people and others, called “Kodiak Native New Life Fellowship.” In June 2013, they moved to Kenai, Alaska, on the mainland to continue working with Alaska Freedom Journey and leading Hearts Going Towards Wellness conferences which address personal struggles in life from a biblical perspective. They have four adult children.

Alaska

Tim and Larissa are both passionate about young people and have a special love for the Native youth of Alaska. They have served as volunteers through InterAct in the Fairbanks Native Bible Church as youth leaders for over twenty years. Knowing God has called them to demonstrate to the youth what it means to live in this world and still be a light for Christ, they choose to work regular jobs to support their family. All financial support sent to their ministry goes directly to youth outreach reimbursement. Serving as a family is essential to them. They have three sons who serve with them on mission trips, youth outreach events and in their home as young people regularly come to visit.