Jennifer Haak

Jennifer Haak serves the tri-county area of Chester, Lancaster, and Berks Counties in southeastern Pennsylvania and lives near where those borders meet. The area spreads across rural farmlands punctuated with small towns and cities and is also home to thousands of Amish and Mennonites.

Pockets of poverty plague the communities, and they have experienced increased rates of homelessness and drug abuse. Young people have also been impacted by the spikes in suicide and depression in the nearby high schools, causing great concern in the area. In addition to these difficulties, even young believers are leaving the church at an alarming rate--up to 65% after age eighteen. Their reasons for leaving indicate a deep need for “more.”

However, during the 1950s and 1970s this area was the site of great revivals with thousands of people in attendance across the farm fields. Hope still burns that these communities will be restored to fullness of life once again but with even greater purpose!

A need exists for young people and families to experience and truly know the hope and love of Jesus and to walk in their Spirit-empowered purposes, identities, and gifts. Through this, people will witness city and rural transformation. Jennifer believes this transformation will begin with the young people in her area, which will ignite a change there and beyond.

Empowering the next generation is at the heart of Jennifer’s ministry. In November of 2020 she was led to the region where she was already planted to meet the needs of youth in a variety of ways.

Jennifer’s ministry involves missional outreach, empowerment discipleship, and leader mentorship. Outreach includes public school events and Bible studies as well as programs that creatively engage students with the gospel through their areas of interest (sports, dance etc.). Empower discipleship schools are held at area ministries and churches and are geared toward teens to allow them to live powerfully in their spiritual lives and to build community relationships. She seeks to create space to receive practical training and to activate them to carry their gifts and calling into the communities. The leadership mentoring programs train students to lead corporately, hone their leadership skills, and to teach their peers.

Jennifer has been an approved candidate with InFaith since May of 2021 and was a teacher working with teenagers for nineteen years prior to coming to InFaith. She has been involved in various ministries over the years including children’s ministry, urban outreach, single-mom’s ministry, and church planting. She went to college in Wisconsin and Florida where she earned degrees in English and Biblical Studies but returned home to Pennsylvania where she later finished a master’s degree in secondary education. Her local ministry is close to her childhood home where she is now raising and discipling her own three children and watching them step into their callings. Moving back to the community, she and her family began to discover God’s heart for the next generation in that area and are passionately pursuing the call to reach them.