Leaders

Jacob tonak

Jacob was raised in Minnesota, while Rachel, his wife, grew up in California. Since they were married in 2005, their desire has been to serve Christ in the local church.

In 2012, Jacob and Rachel moved to Louisville, Kentucky, where Jacob earned a MDiv at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. God gave Jacob and Rachel the vision of coming back to Rochester to plant a church in the fall of 2015, and is now interning with the North American Mission Board. Currently, Rachel is working as a cardiac surgery and transplant nurse at the Mayo Clinic. Jacob and Rachel have six children: Judah, Emma (passed), Blythe, Corbin, Ellis, Hadley, and Knox. They are excited to be a part of what God is doing in the lives of many throughout Rochester.

Adam pohlman

Adam grew up in southern Minnesota where he met his wife of eighteen years, went to college, and worked for several years. By his firm kindness, God humbled this young man through the gospel. God’s majesty and power grew in his eyes while his own achievements paled in comparison.

Adam graduated from Minnesota State University in Mankato, Minnesota becoming a civil engineer, working in that field for twelve years before becoming a pastor. He married Molly in 2005 and together they have six children: Grace, Daisy, Titus, Olivia, Malachi, and Ethan (passed). In 2012 he and his family made the leap to pursue ministry by moving to Minneapolis to attend Bethlehem College and Seminary.

Adam’s heart is to unfold the beauty of Jesus’s story in the Bible and show how God weaves his story into our lives. He especially has a heart for families to flourish in the church family to be the most beautiful display of gospel intimacy and joy to the world.

Matt Fisher

Matt was raised in Northern Minnesota. He married his bride, Luan, in 1977. Their marriage has been blessed with four children. In 2013 they adopted two little ones; whom they are still raising. Matt and Luan have fourteen grandchildren. Matt says, “we thank God, every day, as we watch our family walk hand in hand with the Savior Jesus Christ.”

Matt is an alumni of Crossroads Bible College and Hope International University where he pursued degrees in ThB (Bachelor of Theology) and a BS in Counseling Psychology. Matt has been an active volunteer in organizations, such as: Children’s Heart Link offering cardiac surgeries to indigenous children around the world, and Compassion Counseling, serving as a lay counselor, offering help to our community in Rochester, Minnesota. He, currently, is self-employed doing home inspections for home buyers. Matt is gifted in the ability to “problem solve” technical and complex issues.

Matt’s passion is the love of the Lord and helping others see God’s sovereignty in their own lives. When Matt is not reading or studying you will often find him and his family on the trails enjoying God’s creation and sharing the gospel with strangers along the way.

Kurtis Amundson

Kurtis has taken primary responsibility for establishing our liturgy, choosing music, and coordinating our musicians to lead a Christ-centered, congregational time of singing to our glorious God.

Kurtis has a heart to train the church to sing meaningful words that teach truth, exalt Christ, and emphasize the voices of the saints in easy to learn songs that fit the heart language of everyone at Redemption.

In 2013, Kurtis married his wife, Aubrey; they are blessed with three children: Sophia, William, and Elizabeth. Currently he is Director of Communications for Missio Nexus, an association of Great Commission-focused churches and agencies, as well as a Directing Member on the board of the Alliance for the Unreached, which seeks to bring awareness to the third of humanity without access to the story of Jesus.

Kevin amundson

Kevin Amundson grew up in New Prague, MN, and moved to the Rochester area when he married his wife Emily in 2014. He is currently earning a Bachelor of Theology in Applied Theology and Master of Applied Religion in Biblical Law with New Geneva Christian Leadership Academy. When Kevin isn’t plowing snow or running the motor grader for MnDOT, he loves reading, studying theology, and counseling and encouraging fellow Christians. 

Kevin and Emily live in Zumbrota, MN. They run their wedding and event videography business, Terra Nova Productions, and manage a Christian news aggregator, Christendom.press. They also love working with their land, raising rabbits and produce, and enjoying hospitality with their church family and neighbors.

Kevin serves the church body by managing technology for Sunday Worship and organizing events for fellowship and discipleship. Kevin’s passion is to provoke fellow believers to a deeper love for Christ and his church and to equip the brothers to proclaim the gospel and faithfully work for the spread of Christ’s kingdom on earth through passionate and active obedience to the Word of God.

Justin Opperman

Justin is husband to Brenda, Dad to six kids, and facilities design engineer at Mayo Clinic. He has incredible attention to detail for all things mechanical and theological doing everything he can to help shepherd the people of Redemption City Church.

Justin has a love for Jesus down to every detail in life. This love is displayed in his home where he welcomes the world to enjoy the love of Christ working in his family. His favorite pastimes include plumbing the depths of biblical truth found in confessions, creeds, and reformed podcasts.

Justin can often be found leading a Sunday School class, playing guitar on the worship team, or arriving early and staying late to assist in making our gathering space useful for worship.