Wayne Jacobsen


Wayne Jacobsen is an American author and former pastor, best known for his Christian non-fiction book, He Loves Me!.
He is the founder of Lifestream Ministries and a co-host of the podcast The God Journey.
Jacobsen also collaborated with author William P. Young on the writing of the novel The Shack and helped create the Christian publishing company Windblown Media. He has been a contributing editor to Leadership Journal'', and has authored numerous articles on spiritual formation, relational community, and engagement of culture.

Biography

Jacobsen grew up on a grape vineyard in central California as the third of four sons. His family was initially involved in a Baptist fellowship before becoming part of the renewal movement. This early exposure to both traditional and experiential Christian practices informed his later spiritual journey.
Jacobsen attended Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Oklahoma, graduating in 1975 with a bachelor's degree in Biblical Literature. Upon graduation he married Sara Fought of Urbana, Ohio, who graduated that same year.
Jacobsen began his full-time Ministry in 1975 as an Associate Pastor at Valley Christian Center in Fresno, California - a Foursquare Gospel|Foursquare] church. He left Valley Christian Center in 1980 a to help plant a new church in Visalia, CA, The Savior’s Community, encouraging more relational engagement with God and others. He left there in 1994, when he launched Lifestream Ministries, to facilitate his writing and speaking around the world.
Through Lifestream, he has published numerous books, articles, and multimedia resources aimed at encouraging relational Christianity.
In addition to his ministry work, Jacobsen was involved in educational mediation through BridgeBuilders, an initiative aimed at resolving religious tensions in public education. He provided consultation and training for school districts and parent groups, though his involvement has since diminished.
In 2005, Jacobsen collaborated on The Shack, a Christian novel written by William P. Young. Jacobsen spent over a year rewriting the manuscript and was instrumental in the decision to self-publish the book, which went on to sell over one million copies within 13 months. He later served as a consultant for the 2017 film adaptation by Lionsgate.
Jacobsen co-hosts The God Journey podcast, where he discusses topics related to spiritual growth, relational faith, and critiques of religious institutionalism. He has also produced several teaching series including Transitions, The Jesus Lens, and Engage, many of which are available online through Lifestream.

Personal life

In 2023 Jacobsen resides in Newbury Park, California with his wife Sara. Sara is actively involved in Lifestream Ministries as a board member and office manager.
They have two children, Julie and Andrew, and three grandchildren.

Major works

Jacobsen has written and co-authored several books, including; He Loves Me!, In My Father's Vineyard, Authentic Relationships, So You Don't Want to Go to Church Anymore, The Naked Church, Beyond Sundays, Finding Church, Live Loved Free Full, In Season, A Language of Healing and Tales of the Vine.
Jacobsen cohosted a weekly podcast at TheGodJourney.com, and was a mediator on governmental issues involving church and state in educational issues.

Selected bibliography

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