Jeff Simmons seemed to have his life figured out. He gave his life to Jesus at a young age and thought he’d always go into business like his father did. But after graduating from college, the Holy Spirit nudged him in an unexpected direction — ministry. Later, in 2003, God called Jeff and his wife, Lisa, to plant a church in Nashville, Tennessee. What started as 15 people in an apartment clubhouse on Thursday nights soon blossomed into Rolling Hills Community Church, which now has five campuses around the state (plus one online).

Over the years, Jeff has learned that ministry may not always be easy — but it’s always worth it. Today, he’s sharing his favorite ways to unwind, the things that overflow his “passion bucket,” and the authors who have helped shape who he is today.

QUESTION #1: ACQUAINT

There’s much more to food than palate and preference. How does a go-to meal at your favorite hometown restaurant reveal the true you behind the web bio?

I grew up in San Antonio, Texas, so my favorite food has to be some hot, sizzling steak fajitas. My dad was a master cook of fajitas. In fact, his fajitas are still legendary. Growing up, I remember our house always being full of families and friends enjoying hot fajitas off the grill.

If there was a holiday, we had a party. Even when I went off to college, my parents would come up for Homecoming and Parent’s Weekend. My dad would roll up to our apartment and set up his grill in the parking lot right outside our door. As the grill would heat up, the smoke would rise and a party would start.

College students love free food, so people would come from everywhere. We would have music, football, laughter and fajitas for everyone. Before street tacos became popular, there was my dad. Still to this day, my friends talk about our fajita parties.

Since then, my dad has transitioned to his new home in heaven, and now I’m the dad. There’s still nothing better than a fajita dinner with my family and friends. This tradition of mouth-watering fajitas, chips and queso, salsa, jalapeños, flour tortillas and some sopapillas to top it all off is something we all love. It always makes my heart happy to have friends and family gathered around the table. The more, the merrier when enjoying a delicious meal and rich fellowship. And one day, I believe there will be fajitas at that great feast in heaven. I love it all!

QUESTION #2: REVEAL

We’ve all got quirky proclivities and out-of-the-way interests. So what are yours? What so-called “nonspiritual” activity (or activities) do you love engaging in, which also help you find essential spiritual renewal?

Hiking with my kids is something I love to do. As a family, we have been on a mission to hike at many of our National Parks. There are so many incredible places that we’ve been hiking together — Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Grand Tetons, Smokey Mountains, Yosemite, Glacier, Acadia and more. But my all-time favorite place to hike is the Narrows in Zion National Park.

It was early in the morning when we set out on this hike. We rented special hiking boots, socks and hiking poles. My kids were eight, 10 and 13 at the time. We took the first bus of the morning to the trailhead. It was a cool — almost cold — morning as we took our first steps.

The trail was fairly flat and easy for the first mile, and then the fun began. After this, you actually have to hike in the river. Seriously! You have to walk on big rocks through water that starts at your ankles and then moves up to your knees and then to your waist. The cliff walls are hundreds of feet high and they narrow in on you as you get further into the canyon. After about five hours, with the water up to our chest, we decided to turn around and start the journey back. The kids were exhausted, especially after 10 hours of hiking, partly in a rushing river. But they will tell you today that it was the greatest hike of their lives!

QUESTION #3: CONFESS

Every superhero has a weakness. Every human, too. We’re just good at faking it. But who are we kidding? We’re broken and in this thing together. So what’s your kryptonite, and how do you hide it?

When I was born, I had severe asthma. In fact, so they tell me, I spent almost the first six months of my life in the hospital in a bubble. The doctor told my parents I wouldn’t be able to function normally and never be able to run or play any sports. However, my grandmother was a prayer warrior. She had a group of women who would gather weekly in her home to pray for me.

After those first six months, I was able to go home from the hospital. I still had a hard time breathing and had many asthma attacks. I was also severely allergic to peanuts, which they discovered after I had an allergy attack and had to be rushed to the hospital in preschool.

But God.

People continued to pray, and by the grace of God, I continued to be healed. At 5 years old, the doctor told my parents that we needed to move to a more conducive climate. So my parents moved to San Antonio, Texas.

There, I began to thrive. Not only did I function normally, but by God’s grace, I was able to run and play sports all through school. Basketball, baseball, football, soccer — you name it, I played it. God did a miracle in my life, and I will never forget the impact of a praying grandparent, her church community and the healing power of our great God. I am so blessed and grateful.

QUESTION #4: FIRE UP

Tell us about your toil. How are you investing your professional time right now? What’s your current obsession? And why should it be ours?

When I was in college, I majored in business. I always thought I would be a Christian businessman like my dad and many other men I watched growing up and whom I respected.

When I graduated, I interviewed with a company in St. Louis, and the night after the interview, I could not sleep. It was a great company, a great job and everything I thought I wanted. However, God had another plan for my life.

That night, I wrestled with God. I prayed, cried, and came to a point of complete surrender. I truly felt that night that God was calling me into ministry — although I had no idea what that actually meant.

I declined the company’s offer the next morning and, by God’s grace, took a job at a church working with middle school, high school and college students. From the first night, I was hooked. I loved it! Seeing God work in the hearts and lives of students was incredible. Watching the next generation impact their families and friends with the love of Jesus filled my heart with utter joy — and it still does today.

I worked with students for 10 years until God called my wife and me to plant a church. As a pastor, I still love seeing God transform lives for his glory. Watching people come to know the love, joy and peace of God overflows my passion bucket. Every day, I wake up and think, What will God do today? I love being on this lifelong journey with him!

QUESTION #5: BOOST

Cashiers, CEOs, contractors, or customer service reps, we all need grace flowing into us and back out into the world. How does the Holy Spirit invigorate your work? And how do you know it’s God when it happens?

I love to go on mission trips to the Amazon Jungle. Through Justice & Mercy International, we have a boat that takes teams up the Amazon River to work in villages. In addition, we have a conference center in the Amazon Jungle where we host Jungle Pastors for teaching and training.

Being in the Amazon challenges me and inspires me. First, I feel so close to God in his creation. The beauty, majesty and sheer magnitude of the jungle remind me of the greatness of the God I love and serve. I feel so small and he seems so big.

Second, my time in the Amazon is a reset for me. In the U.S., we have so much — money, stuff, things, distractions, luxuries and more. When you serve people who have no money and very few possessions and yet you see the love and joy in their hearts, you quickly realize that the things of this world are nothing compared to the love of our God. In fact, you see how much of a trap our money and possessions become. A weight that actually holds down our joy and love for God and others.

Third, being in the Amazon gives me time to hear from God. My life is so fast — driving kids, work, meetings and more. But God speaks if we will only make time to listen.

Finally, the Amazon reminds me that he is God and I am not. He is enough for me.

QUESTION #6: inspire

Scripture and tradition beckon us into the rich and varied habits that open our hearts to the presence of God. So let us in. Which spiritual practice is working best for you right now?

I’m a doer. I like to be moving. I love to be active. So it’s hard for me to be still. Also, I’m an extrovert with a capital “E.” I love being with people. They energize me. When my wife and I were first married, she told me after about three weeks, “I need time with you.”

I said, “What are you talking about? We are out every night with someone and doing something.”

She replied, “Not you and everyone — just you.”

That’s a picture of the command to “be still and know that I am God.” That time. Alone. Solitude. Silence. It has always been a challenge for me. However, as I’ve grown older, this time has become the richest and most soul-nourishing part of my day.

Every morning, I schedule an hour to be alone with God. There is always the temptation to go to a breakfast meeting with someone, work out or even jump into work, but I protect this time like a soldier protecting a fortress. I need my time with God. And now, I crave this time alone with God. When COVID-19 hit in 2020, it was a very overwhelming and challenging time for everyone, but especially for pastors. Do you shut down the church or not? And everyone had an opinion about masks and more. Yet through that time, God sustained me. My time with him galvanized my faith and resolve. This Lord is my refuge and fortress.

QUESTION #7: FOCUS

Looking backward, considering the full sweep of your unique faith journey and all you encountered along the way, what top-three resources stand out to you? What changed the game and changed your heart?

There have definitely been many defining moments in my life when God has shaped me. I remember during my freshman year at college, a guy named Louie Giglio started a Bible study called Choice. Four years of sitting under Louie’s teaching every Monday night helped shape my view of God, worship, and discipleship. Read anything you can by Louie, and listen to any of his sermons. He is anointed, and our God truly speaks through him.

After Louie comes Philip Yancey. His book “What’s So Amazing About Grace?” struck a deep chord with me about God’s grace in my own life and then sharing his grace with others. Then, his book “Prayer” — wow, so life changing and life giving. Also, “The Jesus I Never Knew.”

From there, God used “Celebration of Discipline” by Richard Foster to help shape my personal time with him. There have been so many books, sermons, podcasts and more that God continues to use in my life on a daily and weekly basis. I love learning, growing and being challenged to become all God desires. There are so many more books and people that God has used in my life — from the writings of C.S. Lewis and Dietrich Bonhoeffer to more current people like Rick Warren and Tim Keller. I feel like there is so much more to learn, and I want to be open to all God has for me to learn so I can reach my full potential in Christ and help others along the way.

We all have things we cling to to survive (or even thrive) in tough times — times like these! Name one resource you’re savoring and/or finding indispensable in this current season, and tell us what it’s doing for you.

Recently, our men’s group has been going through “The Voice of the Heart” by Chip Dodd. Our group has been together for over five years, and yet this has been one of the most powerful studies to date.

Our God has used it to help us go deeper in our faith and relationships. He’s truly used this study and these men to challenge all of us in the area of emotions. As men, we have a tendency to hide or suppress our emotions. We don’t want to look or appear weak. But God has been challenging us in this area. We’ve had a lot of tears and rawness over the past few months as guys open up about what is really going on in our hearts and lives.

God has been refining me in this area of emotions. I tend to be so busy that I don’t process what I’m really feeling. This study has caused me to become even more real and vulnerable. I need this in my own heart with God, my wife, my kids, and all my relationships. I want to be my true, authentic self. I don’t want to hide or put on a mask. I want to be fully me. Emotions are a gift from God, and God is teaching me so much in this area. I’m humbled and thankful every day. I long for depth and authenticity in my own life as well as in others.

QUESTION #8: dream

God is continually stirring new things in each of us. So give us the scoop! What’s beginning to stir in you but not yet fully awakened? What can we expect from you in the future?

I’m prayerfully excited about what God is doing right now. I’m sensing that our country and world are on the verge of global revival. We see sparks like what happened at Asbury and other colleges, and I believe God is preparing to do something big.

Our world needs Jesus more than ever. With wars, pandemics, famines, persecutions and more, these are the birth pains of either revival or the ultimate return of Jesus. I want God’s church to be ready. I want every Christ-follower to be living their life fully sold out to him.

I believe, as Jesus said, the harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. This is our time. People need hope and help. And, Christians are called to be “little Christs.” I am praying toward this end for me, my family, God’s church here at Rolling Hills, Justice & Mercy International, and all Christ-followers today. I’m praying for a fresh anointing of the Holy Spirit to fill and consume us, and then to use each of us to make a difference in our sphere of influence.

I believe Christians have been on the defense for too long. We have been known more for what we are against than what we are for. And, I long for us to be known for love, joy, peace, hope — Jesus! I long for God’s people to make a God-sized impact today. And as we all join together to pray, serve and love, then revival with come — Jesus will come.

What do you long to see God do in the world? Do you believe he can — and will — do it?

It’s easy to look at all the evil and injustice in this world and get discouraged. Maybe you’re saying, like the desperate father whose son had a demon that Jesus’ disciples couldn’t cast out, “I do believe! Help me overcome my unbelief!” (see Mark 9:24).

We serve a God who is capable of far more than we often give him credit for. Today, as we pray, let’s allow ourselves to dream a bit — to look beyond what we see and ask for the so-called impossible.

Jeff Simmons