A unique ministry need at Great Bend’s Seventh-day Adventist Church and School convinced Pastor Jiwan Stefan Moon and his wife Jessica that God was calling them to move to Kansas.
“We were asked to come to provide team ministry,” Pastor Moon said. He holds a Doctor of Ministry degree and serves as the senior/lead pastor to Great Bend, Hutchinson and McPherson District of the Kansas-Nebraska Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. Jessica is the head teacher (principal) at the Great Bend Seventh-day Adventist School, located on the same property as the church, one mile west of 10th and Patton Road.
“We needed a pastor and we needed a teacher,” said church member Doris Reile. “That combination is hard to find.”
Dr. Moon, the only son of a third-generation Adventist pastor, was born in Seoul, South Korea. His father was the first missionary sent out by the Korean Union of the Adventist Church. Jiwan, a Korean-American-Canadian, grew up in the mission field and has always lived in multiculturalism, relating to and collaborating with persons of all backgrounds. He speaks three languages: Korean, English, and Tagalog, the national language of the Philippines.
He and his wife Jessica have three daughters, Hannah, Rebecca Anna, and Isabella Jinah. The Moons said the girls love Jesus and are eager to use their talents for Christ’s mission. As a singing trio, they are known as the Moon Sisters.
Jessica was born in Canada, which is where they met. She speaks four languages: English, Portuguese, French, and Spanish.
Their goal in life is to mentor and disciple young people to reach their God-given full potential in fulfilling Christ’s mission in their lives.
“My whole life I knew I wanted to be a teacher,” she said. “I felt it was God’s calling for me.” She was home-schooling their daughters until this year. Now she continues to teach them and six additional students at the school.
“True education is more than just academic excellence and getting good grades,” she said. “It’s providing a safe and loving environment for children to grow physically, mentally and spiritually.”
An important part of the school program is service. This semester they have baked cookies and delivered them to firefighters along with a poster-sized thank-you card in appreciation of their service. This month they are collecting non-perishable food items for those in need. Before Thanksgiving, they will take a field trip to the Food Bank of Barton County to deliver at least eight boxes of items. The church’s Women’s Ministry is also filling a box for this project.
About Pastor Moon
Dr. Moon has served as a youth pastor since 1991 and was ordained in 2003.
In 1998, he first began mentoring a group of university students at the University of Toronto and York University. His focus is on the Christian young person’s identity and how to fortify it when the student is exposed to the secular mindset on a public college or university campus.
“Ninety percent of Seventh-day Adventist students are attending a non-SDA school,” he said.
He served as the World Public Campus Ministries Director at the Adventist Church World Headquarters from 2014 to 2020, and the Adventist public campus ministry grew exponentially under his leadership and watch.
Prior to arriving in Great Bend, he served as the senior/lead pastor of the largest Seventh-day Adventist Church in Minnesota.
The Moons were at a point of transition in their lives when he started sending out his resume.
Open to all possibilities, they wanted to stay in mid-America but also considered becoming missionaries.
“We heard of the rare position – in this case a husband-wife team ministry,” Jessica said. “I wasn’t even looking for a job, but so much prayer went into the decision that we felt this is where we need to be. We’re missionaries in Kansas!” #MoonKansasMission.
Dr. Moon served in several capacities outside of being a pastor during his years living in Ontario, Canada. He is a disaster relief and crisis intervention chaplain, served as an on-call chaplain for two hospitals for many years, and as a volunteer chaplain for a federal women’s correctional facility over 10 years.
The Moons said they have fallen in love with their new home.
“Great Bend is a beautiful, friendly town,” Dr. Moon said. “The people are very kind — they are ‘Kansas kind.’ Living in a small town, it feels like you’re just one big family.”
Counseling services
Pastor Moon provides free faith-based family counseling services for adolescents and adults, especially for parents with adolescent children. He is also a certified marriage counselor. To contact him call 240-535-5569 or send an email to pastorjsmoon@gmail.com.
