Meet the Pastor

Pastor Dirk, his wife Cathy, and their three cherubs have just arrived in the New Albany area!  They have come to Jacobs Chapel United Methodist Church from the Avon United Methodist Church, where he served as the Director of Lay and Youth Ministries for 8 years and then as the Associate Pastor for a year and a half.

It took Pastor Dirk a few years to have a better understanding of God's call on his life into ordained ministry.  With the help of an insightful senior pastor, he was able to determine that God had actually been after him since he was a young acolyte growing up in Crawfordsville's Trinity United Methodist Church.  Since answering God's call, Dirk has graduated from Christian Theological Seminary, entered the US Navy Chaplain Candidate program, and has most recently been commissioned as a provisional elder in the Indiana Annual Conference.

Pastor Dirk has been married to his high school sweatheart for almost 15 years.  They have three children.  Cadin and Cambria, 8 year olds who were born in and adopted from Cambodia.  Sullivan (Sully) is almost 5 years old and was born in and adopted from China.  Harbour Grace, their 1 year old all black Newfoundland, is a big lovey dovey of a beast who best expresses her love for people by drooling on them.

Pastor Dirk graduated from Wabash College where he studied Religion and Psychology.  He is interested in many different kinds of activities, especially those that get him outdoors, on or in water, or just sitting under a nice shade tree with some good company.  He is a proud owner of a 1974 Volkswagen Westfalia camper/van ("Sunny Van Hujidank"), and a 1970 Corvette Stingray.