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 on May 1, 2022.
Pastor Jeff is a second-career pastor having worked in the outdoor sporting goods industry prior to being called into professional 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 works for the Montana DNRC in Helena, MT as a crew manager on an initial attack helicopter wild land firefighter crew. Finnigan recently graduated from Lincoln High School in Sioux Falls, SD, and will be attending Minnesota State University - Mankato pursuing a degree in Automotive Engineering.
When 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 at one of the numbers below.
St. Dysmas Office: (605) 338-1735
Cell Phone: (605) 360-3409
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