About

Ken and Jessica are members of Wycliffe Bible Translators. Their most recent overseas term was in France (2011-2015).

Ken grew up in Rochester, Minnesota and worked at the Mayo Clinic for several years. When he joined Wycliffe, he went to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (the former Zaire) to participate in the Mono Bible translation project. After obtaining a Ph.D. at the University of Chicago, he returned to Africa and taught linguistics at the Faculté de Théologie Evangélique de Bangui in Central African Republic. He also helped select and train a team of mother tongue translators who are now carrying on the Mono translation project. For several years, Ken was the Associate International Linguistics Coordinator for Wycliffe’s sister organization SIL International. In 2011 Ken became a Senior Linguistics Consultant for SIL.

After obtaining a BA in applied linguistics from Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, Jessica’s first assignment with Wycliffe was participating in the Kenyang and Denya Bible translation projects in Mamfe, Cameroon. (Both New Testaments were dedicated in 2010.) She then became a publicity writer and photographer for SIL in Dallas. She continues these tasks, but she is primarily a full-time mom during their children’s formative years.

Ken’s home church is Rochester Covenant Church (Minnesota), and Jessica’s home church is Calvary Chapel Fort Lauderdale (Florida).

They share singing and songwriting as hobbies. Ken plays guitar and has successfully talked Jessica into playing mandolin (left-handed, no less!). They have four children.