CHURCH HISTORY

God had called Pastor Dave Kaufman to the ministry after his conversion in a night club in January 1974. Pastor Kaufman spent a year ministering for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, a couple of years directing a Teen Challenge halfway house ministry, and a few years in the business community.

At the leading of the Holy Spirit, Pastor Dave, a 1975 graduate of South Dakota State University, and his wife, Jeanne moved back to the Brookings area and stepped out in faith in March 1981 to pioneer the Holy Life Tabernacle Church ministry. They also started the area's only full-line Christian bookstore at the same time and after it was established in 1984, they turned it over to private ownership.

They believed the call of God on their lives and rented local convention rooms to host Sunday services. Starting without a congregation or regular support, they trusted God to bless and provide for His church. As Pastor Dave and Jeanne were faithful, God built a solid nucleus of believers.

A permanent home for the growing church didn't materialize right away so they rented convention rooms and set up equipment for over nine years. Even without their own facility, they held crusades and outreaches to the Brookings area and delivered 55,000 gospel tracts with Good News to people in this region. Land was acquired in 1989 and a new church facility was built in Brookings in 1990. The ministries of the congregation expanded and the membership grew with the new visibility in the community

Pastor Dave and Jeanne have ministered in numerous countries, so their vision to reach the world has helped many in the congregation to take missions trips. Associate Pastor Randyn & Angeline Funderburg also work with Pastor Dave and Jeanne on the full-time staff. There are many other layworkers who serve in the local ministry as well. Together, the Holy Life church hosts two charismatic Pastors Conferences each year that reach over 200 other churches and ministries from many backgrounds across the Midwest with encouragement and support.

Holy Life Tabernacle became debt-free in the mid-1990's and God laid on Pastor Dave's heart to encourage other pastors and leaders so that the Body of Christ could be blessed. God has supernaturally given Pastor Dave and Jeanne a Barnabas ministry of encouragement. Wherever they go, people are blessed, refreshed and revived.