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Staff

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Jeff Ruggles
​Watertown Pastor

Steve Norby
Lead Pastor

Ben Gietzen
Pastor of Multiplication & Networking

Sue Heavey
​Administrative Assistant

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Steve originally joined the staff at Brookings (now GracePoint) Wesleyan in 1996 as the Discipleship Pastor. He left a 15-year career at 3M company where he had held positions ranging from Project Engineer to Plant Engineering Manager. He has a Mechanical Engineering degree from the University of Minnesota and he earned a Bible degree from Indiana Wesleyan University while employed at 3M.

After being on staff in Brookings for 3 years, Steve was called to the lead pastor position at New Hope Wesleyan in Williston, North Dakota. He spent 10 1/2 years in ministry there until receiving a call to be the lead pastor in Brookings in January of 2010.

Steve is married to his high school sweetheart, Vicki. They have 6 children and 13 grandchildren. Steve loves to spend his spare time working out, golfing and hiking in the mountains with Vicki.

Leading people to authentic relationship with Jesus Christ is Steve’s passion. He hopes that people become crazy in love with Jesus and is committed to preaching God’s Word in a relevant and life-changing way.

Ben originally joined the staff of GracePoint Wesleyan (at that time, Brookings Wesleyan) in 2010 as Interim Youth Pastor before moving to Minneapolis in the summer of 2011 to help plant a church. More recently, Ben has been serving as Worship Pastor at Cornerstone Church in Watertown, SD.  After five years as Cornerstone’s Worship Pastor, Ben was called back to GracePoint to serve as Pastor for the Oasis Young Adult Ministry. 
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Ben met his wife, Abby, while attending SDSU and they were married in June of 2010. Ben graduated from Crown University in 2015 with a degree in Christian Ministries and is currently working on his Masters of Divinity degree through Sioux Falls Seminary. Ben and Abby have three children: Wesley, Alice (AJ), and Otis. 
Ben has a passion for helping people grow in the character and competency of Jesus through leading worship, teaching, and making disciples with a priority on multiplication.

Born and raised near Flint, MI, Jeff is an avid University of Michigan fan, and loves all Detroit sports, even the Lions. He and high school sweetheart, Kate, got married when they were 21 and when they were 24, they left Michigan for Virginia Beach, VA. There they lived for 6 years with no children. Jeff worked as a Polysomnographic Technician (a sleep tech) for a Virginia Beach hospital, and became a core member of a Wesleyan Church plant.

After about 4 years, Jeff felt a pull towards full-time ministry, and began pursuing licensing through the Wesleyan Church FLAME program. Through a long course of events, Jeff and Kate, still no children, wound up interning for New Hope Wesleyan Church in Williston, ND in 2008, under the leadership of Pastor Steve Norby. In May, 2009, Jeff accepted a lead pastor position at Watford City Wesleyan Church, where he served as lead pastor for 9 years. While there, he and Kate had two children, Olivia, now 7, and Makenzie, now 6. In 2018, Jeff and Kate felt God’s pull again, calling them away from Watford City and toward the church revitalization project in Watertown, SD.

Born in Memphis TN, Sue grew up in the South until 8th grade when her family moved to Minneapolis. She received a degree in Music Ed from Augsburg College, but as life unfolds, ended up working as a self-taught application developer/programmer for 27 years. That job eventually brought her, and her husband, to Watertown in 1995.

Sue has been married to Dennis for 43 years. Since it was not in God’s plan for them to have children of their own, she has spent her adult life in music ministries and children's/youth ministries, and has produced/directed over 20 children's productions and dinner theaters. She is currently serving as the Kids' Ministry Leader at GracePoint Church in Watertown.