Making the Pastoral Choice: Jake Eisinger

What does an Elko City police officer and a Lutheran pastor have in common?

In the case of Jake Eisinger, they are one and the same person. Jake Eisinger has served as a police officer for the City of Elko (Nevada) for the past 16 years. He also is now the pastor at St. Mark Lutheran Church in Elko, Nevada. Jake grew up in Elko as a member of St. Mark Lutheran Church. His father, Alan Eisinger, was pastor at St. Mark from 1994-2003. He left Elko in 2003 after joining the US Air Force and after six years of service came back to Elko in 2009. When Jake and his wife, Alyssa, moved back to Elko, he became active as a member and leader at St. Mark, eventually becoming an elder.

He had always thought of being a pastor, and when the church went through an extended time of pastoral turnover in the 2010’s, he sought to become more involved in spiritual leadership at St. Mark. So, he enrolled in the Lay Deacon program through the CNH District Mission Training Center, completing that program in 2021. When Pastor Phil Beyer was Called to St. Mark in 2021, he encouraged Jake to consider Concordia Seminary’s Specific Ministry Pastor (SMP) program as an alternate path to ordination. In 2023, Jake enrolled in the SMP program and as part of the progression of the program was ordained in 2025.

Although he is the pastor at St. Mark, he still also serves as an Elko police officer. This involves a challenging schedule. Jake works the graveyard shift (12-hour night shifts) for the police department and when he gets off, he comes into the office at St. Mark around 7:30 a.m., works until around 11:00 a.m. and then goes home to sleep. During those mornings, he also helps lead devotions for the preschool students at St. Mark.

On the Sundays, when he must work the night before, he again comes in after work to preach and lead Sunday Bible class. Jake states that the schedule sounds crazy, but it does work. He also comments that the Elko Police Department is very supportive of his Calling in the ministry and have even asked him to help get a chaplain program and peer support network started at the department. Although he is still a few years away from retirement, he plans to keep working both of these vocations as long he can make it work.

Jake emphasizes that though it is working now, if at anytime it becomes a conflict, his commitment to ministry and the role of pastor at St. Mark is the higher priority. Jake Eisinger is an example of the various alternative ways God Calls His people to ministry, and how those Called are willing to do what it takes to serve His people and His church!