NEW HOME
Pastor Jake has served the ministry faithfully for the last 12+ years - previously as a volunteer, Worship Leader, and Associate Pastor. He leads the church now alongside Courtney, his wife of 11 years, and their two daughters - Annie Kaye & Clara Beth.
Born in Corbin and raised in Gray, his heart for the tri-county area and its people is deep-rooted and a genuine part of who he is. His passion for seeing lives changed in Appalachia is second-to-none, and he leads Forward with a message of hope to the hopeless and healing for the broken, simply through the gift of Jesus.
Leah has served Forward since 2016, starting off as a Jill-of-all-trades on the worship team and eventually adding her role as Director of Kids ministries in 2019.
Originally from Harlan County, she’s been a member of the Corbin community for the last 10+ years, with 15 years of experience in childcare - ranging from in-home to inside the classroom - previously working on staff at Learn N’ Grow Preschool in Downtown Corbin before overseeing curriculum within the church.
Jo Jo has also been in service to the church since 2016, starting off primarily in worship before taking the role of Social Media Manager in 2018, adding on as co-Worship Leader in 2019, and finally the all-encompassing role of Media Director starting in 2020.
Growing up just across the Cumberland Falls in McCreary County, he’s found himself a citizen of the tri-county area since 2013. His work is driven by a passion to bring creativity and detail to the ministry setting, both in and out of service.
Becky joined the staff in 2019 as Volunteer Director. She and her husband Ethan have been a consistent part of the church for the last 5+ years, and they’ve recently added a new member to our Forward Kids, their beautiful daughter Izzy Jo.
A teacher in the Williamsburg Independent School District, Becky has also worked with the University of the Cumberlands and has been a great addition to the Whitley County community throughout her entire life.
We believe in God in 3 forms: Father, Son, & Holy Spirit. (Matthew 28:19) We believe in Jesus’ life, death, burial, and resurrection. We believe the Bible is “God-breathed” and thus is the inspired, inerrant word of God. (2 Timothy 3:16)
We kick-off our services with organic, contemporary worship music. We believe worshipping together is the perfect way to put God in His rightful place and ourselves in our rightful place. Pastor Jake brings a simple, challenging, and practical application of the word to everyday life in his weekly messages.
All are welcome in our doors - no matter who you are, what you’ve done, or where you’ve been - as we believe the ground is level at the foot of the cross.
We believe that children are the future of both the local church and Christianity across the globe. Proverbs 22:6 says, “Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” This is our motivation - to breathe the word of life into the next generation, knowing that these children are a gift and reward from the Lord. (Psalm 127:3)
Our goal is to always build from the foundation of God’s word, so we may advance His Kingdom throughout our church, homes, and communities. Because of that foundation, we know that the gates of Hell will not prevail against us. (Matthew 16:18)
