About Jimmy

Jimmy Seibert is a pastor, author, leader and international speaker. He and his wife Laura have a lifelong commitment to family and to the Great Commission being fulfilled in their lifetime.

They and a group of friends founded Antioch Ministries International in 1987 and Antioch Community Church in 1999. Over the last 36 years, Jimmy and Laura have expanded a small gathering into an international movement of churches that train and send men and women around the world to spread the lifesaving message of Jesus.

Today, Jimmy serves as the founder and senior pastor of Antioch Waco and senior leader of the Antioch Movement, which now serves in 45 nations across the world.

Jimmy’s book “Passion & Purpose: Believing the Church Can Still Change the World” tells their story and seeks to inspire others to live with a passion for Jesus and His purposes in the earth.

He and Laura’s book “Parenting Without Regret: Raising Kids With Purpose Not Perfection” retells their journey of raising their four kids, Abby, Lauren, Caleb and Daniel, continuing to love their expanding family and enjoying opportunities to minister together for the glory of God.

Childhood:

Jimmy grew up the youngest of four children in Beaumont, Texas. As an ambitious young man, Jimmy had a desire to be part of something big — something much bigger than himself. Though he wasn’t sure what that something was, he knew he wanted to change the world. In high school, he began to ask questions about God, Christianity and faith.

One evening at a friend’s home, Jimmy heard a man’s testimony that began to answer many of his unanswered questions about God. He learned that he could have a personal relationship with God, that Jesus had died on the cross for him and that Jesus loved him. Those truths struck Jimmy to his core. Later that night, Jimmy’s older brother, David, led him in prayer to surrender his life to Jesus. Little did he know that his decision to follow Jesus would lead him into the “big thing” he had always dreamed of being part of.

College:

Jimmy’s desire to follow Jesus grew as he enrolled in college at Baylor University in 1982. With a passion to learn more about following Jesus and a growing vision to share Jesus with the world, Jimmy dove into campus ministry events. At a Campus Crusade event in 1985, Jimmy met Laura Mielke and a small group of believers who were willing to follow Jesus to the ends of the earth. Jimmy and Laura, along with their group of friends, sought to live with a passion for Jesus and His purposes in the earth.

Early Ministry:

On December 20, 1986, Jimmy and Laura were married, with plans to devote their lives to overseas missions. To their surprise, the Seiberts sensed God’s leading to stay and serve the church in Waco, Texas. With a resolute belief that the Church is God’s “Plan A,” they dreamed of bringing the gospel of Jesus to the four corners of the world by training and sending missionaries and planting churches. Out of this dream, the Seiberts formed what would later become Antioch Ministries International.

In the early years of ministry, Jimmy and Laura were leading college students through a discipleship training school known as Master’s Commission, which later became Antioch Training School. Jimmy and Laura would go on to also oversee the college ministry, pastoral leadership and missions at Highland Baptist Church (Waco, Texas). The Seiberts were wholeheartedly committed to Jesus and His purposes in the earth in and through the local church.

Antioch Community Church:

In 1999, Jimmy and Laura, along with a group of like-minded friends, planted Antioch Community Church in Waco, Texas, with the same belief that had started their ministry together years earlier: The Church is God’s “Plan A” for transforming personal lives and every sphere of society. Antioch Waco was built on a desire to equip people to live with the same passion for Jesus and His purposes in our city, nation and the nations of the earth.

You can learn more about Antioch Waco at AntiochWaco.com.

The Antioch Movement of Churches:

Today, the Antioch Movement has grown to more than 40 U.S. churches and more than 80 international teams in 43 nations around the world. With core values of encountering God, life-on-life discipleship and missions through the local church, the ministries of Jimmy and Laura Seibert are reaching the nations through church-planting and discipleship movements that mobilize small groups of marvelous comrades to fulfill the Great Commission.

You can learn more about the Antioch Movement at Antioch.org.