Pastor Jeff Backer
Senior Pastor
SDSP - Sioux Falls
Pastor Jeff began serving St. Dysmas Lutheran Congregation as the Senior Pastor and as the Director of Development for St. Dysmas of South Dakota in May of 2022. While he primarily serves the men inside the walls of the South Dakota State Penitentiary in Sioux Falls, he is responsible for the ministry as a whole.
Pastor Jeff is a second-career pastor having worked in the outdoor sporting goods industry prior to being called into ministry. Before coming to St. Dysmas, Pastor Jeff served at First Lutheran Church in downtown Sioux Falls, SD as the Associate Pastor of Evangelism & Outreach.
Pr. Jeff and his wife, Marnie, have two sons, Harrison and Finnigan. Harrison is a recent graduate of Montana State University in Bozeman, MT and works for the Montana DNRC as a crew chief on an initial attack helicopter wild land firefighter crew. Finnigan is a senior at Lincoln High School in Sioux Falls, SD.
When he is not at work, Jeff is often found in the outdoors hunting, fishing, or something else. He is a passionate bowhunter.
You can contact Pastor Jeff at pastorjeff@stdysmas.com or one of the numbers below.
St. Dysmas Office: (605) 338-1735
Prison Office: (605) 367-5116
Cell Phone: (605) 360-3409
Pastor David Bentz
Mike Durfee State Prison- Springfield, SD
Pastor David began serving St. Dysmas part-time at the end of June 2017, while continuing to serve as the pastor of St. Paul Lutheran Elk Point, where he was ordained in 2013. Pastor David enjoys reading, cooking, and working on home improvement projects.
Pr. David married his wife, Dawn, in April of 2020. She grew up in Huron, South Dakota. His daughter is in college in Chicago where she has a scholarship to study acting with a minor in stage combat.
You can reach pastor David by email at: PastorDavid@stdysmas.com
or by calling/texting his cell at 605-659-6636.
Pastor Dani Jo Bierwagen
Yankton Minimum Unit - Yankton, SD
Pastor Dani Jo Bierwagen has been leading services at Yankton for St. Dysmas since 2006.
Pastor Dani Jo served congregations in Illinois and Iowa before returning to South Dakota to serve Christ the King Lutheran Church in Yankton, SD in 2004.
She is a native of Webster, SD. She has three adult daughters, Alliyah who is a pastor in Greenville, Ohio; Talitha who is pursuing a Master of Fine Arts in writing in Mankato, MN; and Jenny who is a home design and furniture specialist in Yankton.
She and her husband Jason have one grandson, Isaac.
Pastor Dani Jo knows first hand the power of Jesus Christ to rescue sinners and transform their lives. Services in Yankton are held on Sunday Evenings.
St. Dysmas Office: (605) 338-1735
Mitch Wilson
Re-entry Coordinator
Mitch Wilson began serving as the St. Dysmas Reentry Coordinator part-time in March, 2018.
Prior to retiring, Mitch worked 10 years at Carroll Institute as a chemical dependency counselor. While at Carroll, he taught male and female treatment classes in the Minnehaha County Jail. Prior to his employment at Carroll, he worked in the Federal Prison system for 20 years retiring in 2007. In the federal system he was a Correctional Counselor and Drug Treatment Specialist.
Mitch is married, has a son, a daughter-in-law and two grandsons.
mitch.wilson@stdysmas.com
Office: 605-338-1735
Cell: 605-961-7489
Susan Zacher
Office Manager
email: susan@stdysmas.com