3/25/26 - 2139: How One Couple Turns Everyday Life into Ministry
Jim: This is iWork4Him.
Martha: Where faith meets work and believers unleash their calling.
Jim: On the outside they look like any other suburban Fort Wayne, Indiana, couple. But underneath all that suburban cloaking lies two Secret Kingdom agents. Lindsay Stump parades around at suburbia in a minivan, two kids, mom and a wife. But on Instagram she has almost 3000 followers. And on YouTube, over 21,000 subscribers all tuned in on her Organized to Save channels teaching Kingdom home principles to the world, but that's not all.
Lindsay's Clark Kent is Jared Stump - by day, a lifecycle manager for Depuy Synthes, where he uses his engineering skills to manage fabricated replacement body parts to ensure they're perfect every time. By night, Jared is a pastor, mentor, visionary, all while posing as a typical suburban dad, mowing the lawn, playing with the kids, and lending a hand to his wife's countless DIY projects.
This amazing couple has figured out that no matter where they go and what they do, they're in the service of the king and they serve at the pleasure of his direction. It's not often we meet a power couple like this, but this couple is poised to change the world in the name of Jesus and we're here to hear their story. Jared and Lindsay Stump, welcome to iWork4Him.
Lindsay Stump: Thanks for having us.
Jim: Yeah.
Martha: He's like Clark Kent, huh?
Jared Stump: I dunno how to live up to that intro. That's amazing. (laughter)
Jim: Hey, so here's a cool part about every time I bring a first time guest on the show, we always ask them to share their Jesus story. So Lindsay, share us your Jesus story.
Lindsay Stump: Yeah. So I grew up in a Christian home, as you all know, as my loving aunt and uncle. And I really, at a young age, really dove into God and accepted early, but probably didn't really, obviously, understand too much of it at that age. So as I got older, I really determined what that meant for me.
And probably high school I would say, was when that really started being a bigger impact. And then going off to college and just continuing on in life, it's just continued to grow and become closer with God. And it's been really cool even this past year just really getting plugged in with our church here and just seeing how God's using the gifts that he's given us to be able to give back to our community.
Jim: So Jared, what about you?
Jared Stump: Yeah, there's been, what, two different times? So when I was around six - I also grew up in the church. Family very much focused on Christ. So it was a just a matter of time and thankfully had really influential grandparents that modeled things well for my parents as well.
So there was age six, the first prayer that didn't know what I was doing. But then when I turned 12, I was at a summer camp and that's when I realized okay, this is a lot bigger of a deal than I probably knew what it was at six. And ever since the rededication, if you wanna get Baptist about it. (chuckles) And so that was where it started and then that grew into a journey that every year I feel like I'm learning a little bit more about who God is.
Martha: That's so good. And I hope that our listeners are hearing that one of the things you both said, you talked about, like in that middle school, high school age range when you're really thinking in new dimensions. That's so pivotable to have those opportunities where you get to be exposed in to a challenge or a commitment that can really change the trajectory, even if you're on the right trajectory, to really make it solidify. Okay, so let's talk about when the two of you met. Lindsay, you wanna share it?
Lindsay Stump: Yeah. Okay. So we met in high school. So we actually met in chemistry class,
Jim: Oh, so there is some chemistry going on. (laughter) Would there, we like mixed two chemicals together and there was an explosion of love or what?
Martha: Yeah.
Lindsay Stump: Yeah. The story goes, I heard at a football game that this guy that sits behind me in chemistry thought I was cute. So I was like who are we talking about? 'cause there was a couple guys behind me, so I had to figure out who this Jared Stump guy was. But it, yeah, it was just, I would say it was pretty quick connection there between the two of us. And I'd say we knew pretty early on that God put us together for a reason.
Jim: Jared, do you wanna add a different color to that story?
Jared Stump: Yeah, every time I go through this story, I'm blown away 'cause this started literally on a tennis bus and I told a friend or two that, Hey, I'm thinking about taking this girl out for a date. They knew me for years, and they're like, no.
Martha: Great support system.
Jim: Choose your friends wisely, people. (laughter)
Jared Stump: There's like literally three or four different guys concocting a plan on how to set this up. So it was within, I wanna say a week or two, like they cornered her at the football game. She didn't really see me in the concession stand where I was working for the tennis team.
And then the other part of it, right? She shared a lot of the rest of it, but when we hugged after homecoming, I was telling her this the other night, I was like, this is it. I think this is it. And here we are. Like I, it just is insane to think like that hug is what kind of sealed it, but yeah, I guess I've never questioned it since.
Martha: And knowing the two of you though, I'm guessing it was a lot deeper than the hug. Not to get too deep into this. Talk about that, like how did your relationship with the Lord play into you guys really knowing that you were meant for each other?
Lindsay Stump: Yeah, I mean we were both very much involved at our churches and stuff too. We went to different churches but we would often go to each other's church events and stuff. So I think just having that aspect really, yeah, like we knew that we wanted God to be in the center of our relationship. That was like very much a priority for who we were looking for in a partner, even at that young age.
Jim: But how old was this young age?
Lindsay Stump: We were juniors in high school.
Jared Stump: 17.
Lindsay Stump: Yeah.
Jim: Sounds pretty old to me.
Martha: Young. Very young. Once you become a parent, that's very young.
Jim: You're older than we were when we met.
Jared Stump: So I was pretty lame. Like for the longest time. I didn't have any girlfriends. That's why the kids on the tennis bus, they're just like, they know. But at the root of it was prayer for the right person.
Lindsay Stump: Yeah,
Jared Stump: and it shows in the fruit of our lives. Like he already knew. I can still specifically remember praying for my, the seat in my car - to sound ridiculous - but whoever sits in that seat in the future. And so it's really impactful to think through these questions in preparation for this. This is insane. God knew. He had every step planned, he knew. Like when I found out she was a pastor's kid, I'm like, what?
Martha: And the reason that we're wanting to delve into this because number one, you guys have been very intentional in your own relationship starting at a very young age. And now in this greater state of maturity that you find yourself in now, you have carried that same intentionality with the people put around you as well. So I wanna ask you this question. Tell us about how you guys are able to encourage other couples the same way that you are working on your relationship now as a married couple.
Lindsay Stump: Yeah, I think in our home, we try to have a very much open door policy. We love having as many people over as we can and just being able to be in community with people, whether it be through our small group or if it's just having somebody from the neighborhood or church over and everything and just being able to make our home feel like a safe space where we can connect with each other.
And so that's been really cool to be able to have that. And specifically separately too. We've been really diving into giving back at church and I'm involved with the women's ministry and Jared's involved with the men's ministry, and so it's been cool to see how God's been using that as well. And I actually was just able to share some stuff from that Jared and I worked through together. We do a big - I say every year, but the last two years - we've done a big getaway weekend together where we've just gotten together and talked to God about where he sees our life and what he wants to do with us for the next year.
And I was able to share some of that stuff with the women's ministry team as well. So that was really cool to be able to incorporate stuff that God's been sharing with us as a couple together.
Jared Stump: He brings it, right? The opportunities are there and I think we've been more serious the last probably year or so and finally being together - maybe that'll come up in some of the other questions - but just being aligned. We've talked about that for years. Being on the same page as a couple and just what, last October? We were leaving a church plant, Lindsay's old school. So there's a lot of nostalgia there. I look at her and I'm like, are we, is this where we're going after just finding this other church? It was a plant from a different church. And at that moment I'm like, all right, God, I can sense that you're actually bringing us together to do these things as a team.
And I realized hearing other people talk about it, that we've been able to share that testimony. I keep hearing people say, don't hold that back. Share that. Let other people be encouraged by your lives. It doesn't always have to look like a small group, reading the Bible together. So it's just the small opportunities are like everywhere now and the intentional ones and the ministries at church and at work and the household for the kids. I love the kids are picking it up too. That's normal. That's normal. Yeah, it's normal to have healthy family relationships.
(chuckling)
Martha: Yes. Yes. That's so good. And the example that you're setting for them, you don't have to always use words. They see it and you're modeling it for 'em. God designed us for community and it is important for couples to find a place to be encouraged and challenged, like you were just talking about.
The same is true for all of us as workers. How fantastic to have a place to get together, be challenged to live out your faith at work, and then to meet others who are doing the same thing. And that's what you'll find when you attend a couple different events this year that Jim and I are gonna be at.
You can choose both of them or one of them, but I highly encourage you to check them out on our events page. One is the US Christian Chamber of Commerce swc2026.com for the expo happening there and the National Faith and Work Summit. Two different places in the country: Orlando and Cincinnati. Go to iWork4Him.com/events and we hope to see you soon.
Jim: All right, Lindsey, you're a wife of 16 years, a mom of two, an Instagram influencer and a YouTube sensation. How in the world do you get it all done?
Lindsay Stump: I would say, for one, I don't get it all done. (laughter) It's because I try to focus on progress over perfection.
Jim: As everybody looks in their background, realizing, yeah, that looks pretty perfect. So she's really good at that.
Martha: That might be a done project.
Lindsay Stump: What you don't see off screen is all the things that I shoved into the corner.
Martha: A true Instagram influencer. (laughter)
Lindsay Stump: But yeah, honestly, i've always had a love for organization and productivity and so those, I've just been able to carry that through in my life and just picked up practices that have helped me be able to manage all of the things.
But I would also say different seasons also call for different priorities. And I've recognized that God's brought me through those different times. Specifically, an example was with our daughter's surgery a couple years ago. That was very much a season where I had to drop a lot of my Organized to Save stuff to be able to focus on our family. And so we're in another season of transition coming up here. Both of my kids are likely gonna be in school all day long, so my days, I'm gonna be completely lost and wondering why the house is so quiet. But it's, yeah, so I've just worked through the different seasons and figure it out what works for me.
Martha: That's so good. And I can vouch for the fact that if anybody follows you on social media at Organized to Save, they're gonna see, you're always like, okay, here's my progress that I'm making on this project. And so I do encourage people to go check it out because Lindsay, you and Jared, 'cause I know that you are the sidekick in getting lumber and all the other things that you're doing and I know you're a great team, but you, there's always a project going on at your house that's in the process.
Jim: I got this image of you in tights, like batman, robin kinda thing. (laughing)
Martha: That's a sidekick?
Jim: Yeah, that's a sidekick. Lindsay, Martha and I got our desire for organizing because both of our family members tended not to be very organized, specifically mothers. But your mom's an organized freak so where did you get your passion for Organized to Save?
Lindsay Stump: Yeah, honestly growing up, like I was right there with her. I was always reorganizing my room. She would find me like tinkering with, reorganizing all my hair stuff in my drawer or whatever. So I think, yeah, just I picked that up from a young age, just liking things to look pretty and making sure everything has a home. And honestly like with that, I tried to help my friends and my family and everything and really found out, like I liked being able to help people to figure out that they can organize on a budget, right?
Because that's a big thing. Like you don't have to spend so much money on all these fancy bins or whatever, but if you don't have a plan for what you're doing with those fancy bins, you're not gonna get anywhere.
Jim: Going to a container store - not a cheap trip.
Martha: Yeah, exactly. So I love this conversation because, you are a helper. You are a "I see a need and I wanna help other people with it." And that's one of the things you really do bring to the table. How does your faith impact the digital influence that you have?
Lindsay Stump: Yeah, with everything that I put out there, I try to be a positive, be positive with it. And I'll still share the things that go wrong with the project or whatever and how I'm gonna make it through. But I really want my platform to be a positive place where people can go for encouragement or to get ideas. But a lot of what I share is also about stewarding well what you already have, right? Talking about that low budget, big impact for your family, and just trying to figure out ways to make your home function better so that you can live a better life within your walls.
Martha: Yeah. Who knew that she could do all these projects with that cabinet that she's been having in the corner for five years? And it's like we're going to use the lumber and make it happen. So you're good at that.
Jim: Jared, when you married Lindsay, you didn't know she was so handy. You just got lucky. Which one of the her projects has been your favorite project? 'Cause you're almost done with the whole house now, so you're al you're gonna have to sell and buy a new house.
Martha: Time to start over. (laughter)
Jim: It's time to start over. What's your favorite project? Really quick, what's your favorite project?
Jared Stump: Probably the current one. We've got a mixture of contractors that helped get it started, but we just put tile in Saturday.
Lindsay Stump: We were working on our master bathroom.
Martha: The master bathroom. Remember we went and looked at it, that they were like gonna work on it.
Lindsay Stump: Yep. Yes. This is biggest project to date. And it's definitely been the one that's pushed the budget, but we've saved up for it. So it was all in God's timing of getting it done.
Jim: All right, so you pose as an average suburban mom. Man, that's a pretty clever deal. Did you know that you had the power to cause people to change their lives and follow what God has gifted you to do at the same time. Did you ever imagine your position in society today?
Lindsay Stump: No. I'm not a very outgoing, outspoken person. It takes me a while to get to know people and stuff and then me to open up a little bit, but for some reason on camera I was able to do that a little bit better. And so it's been cool to see how, even though I am in real life not the most outgoing person, on camera, I can still get my point across to people and be able to help teach them that they can do these things too.
Yeah I never imagined that I would do this. This was never something that I was like, yeah, when I grow up, I wanna be a YouTuber, like all the kids now.
Jim: That's a good one.
Martha: No, but I will tell you, the other day, Uncle Jim saw a saw and said, see, that's the kind Lindsay has. And I'm like, oh, I suppose you have to have one now too, right?
Jim: Yes. That's what it, that track saw that you have. Oh, I need one of those. Especially for the next project we're working on.
We're having a great conversation tonight with Lindsay and Jared as they're living out their God-given purpose in life. One thing that can really get us off track from our purpose is a problem on our computers that's caused by a virus or an intruder.
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Martha: All right, so Jared, we're gonna spend a little time talking about you. So engineer by day, pastor to others day and night under a not so secret cloak of innocence. I'm not sure why you said that...
Jim: I was playing the superhero thing.
Martha: Oh, okay. I'm playing along with this here. When did you realize that you had been given a special ability to touch lives of those around you? Because you have this very special love and concern for others.
Jared Stump: Yeah. I think high school is where it really came. It came out like the relationships that I formed in high school. I had moved quite a bit growing up. So high school was the first time I had enough commonality there, or enough experience with the same friends for more than a year to realize - like me laughing a lot, like if you've probably seen right in this interview already, there's a part of me that just builds trust with others. So they like to share. I always, we always joke about it like anyone will come up to me and share their life story. And it doesn't matter if it's a taxi driver or if it's somebody on an airplane or at the ice cream place where I spent a lot of time at.
(laughter)
Martha: Very convenient.
Jared Stump: But the capstone of all of it was when we started dating that's when, and I'm not saying this to be sappy, right? 'Cause she's here next to me, but we had such a strong connection and it was founded like on Christ, right? We didn't know it at the time, how strong it was, but that in itself was insane because even my mom didn't believe me when I said, Hey, I'm going to a girl's house for her birthday.
She's, you're doing what? And it's just that dynamic, right? Like where I realized okay there's a gift here inside of me. I didn't know all the things that he's now shown me 20 years later. But it's that probably where it came alive was when we started dating.
Jim: She completes you.
Jared Stump: Yeah.
Jim: And having Lindsay by your side makes you be a better man and wanna be a better man. I get that. I get that.
Martha: And it's more than a sappy line.
Jim: It is way more than a sappy line. It's an incredible experience when your best friend is your wife and they bring out the best in you, and you want to be a better man every day. I get that.
By day, you also manage people that report to you. How does your secret power of people coming to you and say, "my name is Jared and I'm here to listen to all your problems," how does that impact your work?
Jared Stump: This took a little bit to think about because I've had so many incredible opportunities to share encouragement, like some pretty insane things with people where, you just dunno what's going on in their life. They bring it into the workplace, right? Like the whole mission, what's going on in their lives isn't necessarily always at the church. Like it's outside of it, right? If I'm gonna really live into this here, so it's changed every bit of my approach. Every year I learn.
You get a little more comfortable with the same common issues people are going through, but then there's some times where it's like, they've trusted me for these five minutes and i'm stewarding their career, but I'm also having an impact on them going home at the end of the day, so like what they do after work.
And so with that stewardship comes a lot of responsibility that God, he just gives me the strength. Every promotion I've ever had, every new job I've taken on, he's prepared the way for things that I just, I didn't think I had in me. And then we get into it, it's oh we're talking about this? This isn't even work related.
Martha: Okay. On iWork4Him, we talk all the time about that tension between our work that we think is outside of the church versus ministry. And I just frankly wanna know have you ever struggled with your work that you were trained for from college and have as your job and going into a ministry position. Have you ever had that tension? And when did you finally figure out that you are already in full-time ministry?
Jared Stump: Yeah, this one is probably once a year, like the last 20 years. It started in college, right? I went to an engineering school. She was at a bible school, right? And I remember halfway through it, I'm like, God, am I supposed to go be with Lindsay at that college?
And I'm glad I didn't make that decision. But then I've realized I have a pattern where every year I'm like, am I supposed to be a pastor? Am I supposed to be doing something different from an entrepreneurial aspect? And something you guys have been very influential on too is guarding my heart with Lindsay inclusive of that decision.
So I may be 10, 20 miles ahead saying, Hey, come on Lindsay. This is where we're going, to realize like we're not on the same page. And so that's, thankfully God has protected me with things. I've heard that theme for strongly for over a decade now. Nope. Make sure you guys are together. So every time God slowed us down.
Jim: Isn't it true you're already in full-time ministry?
Jared Stump: Yes.
Jim: Yeah. There you go. Just wanna make sure you heard that. You're in full-time ministry. All right. The two of you are examples for couples that are almost 40 everywhere.
Martha: He's protecting your age.
Jim: I'm protecting your age. (laughter) I do know it, just in case you're wondering. How can these couples listening today keep their faith strong, their families intact, and still impact their part of the world and get it all done like you guys are getting it done?
Lindsay Stump: Yeah, I think for us open communication has been one of the biggest factors in making sure that we're coming together, making decisions together, but through praying about it.
Jim: Praying about it separately?
Lindsay Stump: No.
Jared Stump: Both.
Lindsay Stump: In separate and together. All of it. Yeah. We don't make any major decision without talking to the other person about it. We are making sure that we're sticking together as a team. We're making sure that we're raising our kids together in Christ setting, creating the habits of prayer and devotion with them. That's been a really cool thing to see with our kids.
Jared Stump: And a lot of times we've talked even more recently, right? There's this level, it's like, what's going on? Like, how did you? They see the iceberg methodology. They see what's above the water. The last 15 years has come with all sorts of highs and lows.
So I think at the end of the day, it's realizing we're a team. And that is, I forget where that insight came from, but I know early on in our marriage I remember someone saying with projects, with everything you're doing, just remember like end of the day, you guys are on the same team. So you can't kick each other off the team. You gotta, at the end of the day, come together.
Jim: So you're a team, but I never see you on the videos on Organized to Save. Is he, does he get it?
Lindsay Stump: He's been there occasionally.
Jim: Okay.
Jared Stump: I'm wearing a green suit.
Jim: Oh, okay. (laughter)
Martha: So he doesn't show up in the green screen.
Jim: Lindsay and Jared, we're so grateful that you guys came on iWork4Him to share your story, to just give people a glimpse of that, Hey, here's a typical suburban couple, making an impact and recognizing that God's chosen you for that, but chosen you for each other, for your ministry and your work at the same time. We're grateful that you shared it with us today and we're super excited for our audience to hear all this. But thanks for being on iWork4Him today.
Jared Stump: Thanks for having us.
Jim: You've been listening to iWork4Him with your hosts, Jim and Martha Brangenberg. We're Christ followers, and our workplace, it's our mission field, but ultimately iWork4Him.