Brothers Become Sixth-generation Adventists

Shortly after Jeff Crain came to pastor the Omak (Wash.) Church, Sherrie Sype and Daryl Jacobson requested Bible study materials on baptism for their two sons, Kurt, 15, and Brent, l2. They had been attending Sabbath School and worship services regularly with their parents and were active Pathfinders. They concluded the studies and asked to be baptized. The baptism took place Nov. 27.

By becoming Seventh-day Adventist Christians, the Jacobson brothers became sixth-generation Adventists on their mother’s side. Their grandparents were Adventist educators, their great-grandfather was a credentialed Adventist minister, and their great-great-grandmother, Mini Sype, also a credentialed Adventist minister, pioneered the Adventist work in Oklahoma. In the 1920s she worked for the Upper Columbia Conference as the home missionary secretary. The boys' mother, Sherrie Sype, was baptized as an Adventist in 1963.

Six generations back on their father’s side, Archibold Gardner migrated to Utah with Brigham Young and helped pioneer the Mormon community. Kurt and Brent are descendants of the fifth of Archibold's 11 wives. The Mormon link was severed when their father, Daryl Jacobson, was baptized in the Adventist Church in 1973.

Sadie Gonzales, 15, a sophomore at Upper Columbia Academy who was baptized at the Faith on Fire Pathfinder camporee in Oshkosh, Wis., last August, was also received into membership Nov. 27.

The Omak Church was delighted to welcome these young people into their fellowship. The Jacobson boys' grandparents were present and expressed how much their grandsons’ decision meant to them.

Featured in: April 2005