# @hopewdm on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DVyOBu8kTrk
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/59417105-hopewdm-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/ac69a4592b.jpg
- **Posted:** 2026-03-12T12:39:07.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** HOPE (@HopeWDM) — https://gondola.cc/HopeWDM

## Caption

I didn’t really grow up in church. My parents told me early on that faith—if and when I decided to know Jesus or get baptized—would be my choice. I always had this feeling that something was missing, but I couldn’t figure out what it was.
 
In 2013, I moved to Florida to study show production and touring. One of my instructors said, “You should try working for churches—they pay well.” I laughed it off at the time, but that simple comment (even though not entirely true) ended up changing everything.
 
After working at a few different churches, I started feeling this pull to move back home. Around that same time, my supervisor took another job, and I figured maybe it was God giving me a nudge. For the first time, I talked to God and said, “If this is really what you want me to do, show me and make it happen.”
 
I started looking for audio jobs in Iowa and came across one at Lutheran Church of Hope. Honestly, after a friend described the typical Lutheran church—organ, robes, hymns, liturgy—I didn’t think it would be my vibe. But I decided to check it out anyway.
 
I started at Hope in November 2017, the year of the Wells Fargo Christmas services, and I was blown away. I couldn’t believe a church in Iowa could fill an arena.
 
Since then, God’s been doing so much in my life. I met my wife at REVIVE (so yeah, kind of the best decision ever). She encouraged me to take Alpha, and that’s where I really started to grow closer to Jesus. At the end of Alpha, I got baptized—one of the best moments of my life.
 
Now, God’s still stretching me, helping me grow as a leader, husband, and follower of Christ. Through Hope, he’s given me a community that encourages and challenges me to keep growing in my faith and walk with him. He’s teaching me to trust him more and use the gifts he’s given me to serve others. I’m just super thankful that I get to do what I love with the people I love every day. 
 
Jacob E.
#HopeWDMStories

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## Tags

hopewdmstories

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