Jonathan Jank

Jonathan Jank - Economic Development.

Listen as Jonathan talks about living out his faith at work.  He previously served as President & CEO for the Seward County Chamber & Development Partnership in Nebraska from 2016 to 2026 and prior to that as the Executive Director of the Seward County Economic Development Corporation from 2012 to 2016. Jonathan served Seward County in the chamber of commerce and economic development leadership role for the past 14 years.

Jonathan Jank recently started a new statewide professional position as an Economic Development Consultant with Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD), which is the largest electric utility in the state of Nebraska, serving all or parts of 84 (of 93) counties in Nebraska. 

Jonathan has spent his career working with and leading nonprofit organizations in various professional and volunteer positions. He has proudly served on a few committees at Concordia University, including the Alumni Council and Ag Advisory Council. Along with other campus and community leaders, Jonathan helped launch two ongoing activities on campus to engage high school and college students. These include the Concordia Catalyst Competition, which is a business plan pitch event that takes place every semester, and the Nebraska Tech Builders Challenge, which helps students solve real-world problems through technology in a 24-hour coding sprint event.

Jonathan lives in Seward County with his wife, Rachel, and their two sons, Philip and Theodore. They are active members at St. John Lutheran Church in Seward, where their boys also attend school, and Rachel teaches Middle School English. Jonathan and Rachel together own and operate a real estate development business, Jank Enterprises & Investments.

 If you want to be encouraged and equipped to live your life of faith more effectively in the workplace, the Skillful at Work Podcast is for you. 

Transcript

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SPEAKER_00 0:02

Welcome to the Skillful at Work Podcast, where we explore living out our faith in the workplace. I am your host, Dr. Kurt Beck, a professor of management and a leadership coach. Join me in my next conversation as I talk with Christians skillfully living out their faith at work for examples, resources, and practical tips that will encourage and equip us to honor God at work. Today we are talking with Jonathan Jenk, the president and CEO of the Seward County Economic Development Partnership. Jonathan, please tell us a little about yourself.

SPEAKER_01 0:38

Yeah, thanks, Kurt, for having me on. So, Jonathan Jenk, I serve as the president and CEO of the Seward County Chamber and Development Partnership. I've been doing that work for coming up on 10 years, and before that was a part of a one-person shop with the Seward County Economic Development Corporation. And then that group formed into our new partnership. Before that was the director for a small nonprofit called CASA as child advocacy organization. And loved that work. It was very meaningful. And was fortunate to get both my undergrad and graduate degrees from Concordia University. I'm a proud bulldog. And met my lovely wife Rachel there, another Concordia grad. And uh and Seward's been our home now for uh just over 20 years.

SPEAKER_00 1:32

Wow. One of the goals of the Skillful at Work podcast is to encourage and equip Christians to live skillfully in the workplace, sharing their experiences and practical tips. Jonathan, as a Christian in the marketplace, tell us about some of your experiences of living out your faith at work.

SPEAKER_01 1:48

Yeah, I I have been very fortunate in the positions that I've held. So I've always had a nonprofit management job in my in my post-college working years. So I've always been had a board of directors, so a lot of bosses, um, per se when you when you work for a board. And I've been incredibly fortunate that I've had a lot of uh board members that have been people of faith themselves, and they have really um they have really been willing to share that with me and encourage me in my own faith development. You know, I'm reflecting on actually our current vision statement uh for Seward County, and it's vision 2035. I have it right behind me, and um, you know, part of it talks about uh it says our residents enjoy picturesque, diverse neighborhoods, viable main streets, outstanding recreational opportunities, active civic life, active civic life, faith-based living and quality housing and employment choices. You know, that face that faith-based living, um, you know, I had a colleague of mine that's been in this industry for 30 plus years, and he said, I've never seen a community or county um put faith-based living in their vision. And um, so we're we are incredibly fortunate here in Seward County that we um that we prioritize that. And because of that prioritization, there is an encouragement um, you know, for myself and and my staff members uh to live out our faith on a on a regular basis. You know, we're fortunate that, you know, when I host business luncheons, I'm usually praying. Uh, and and what a gift that that is to be able to share that um aspect of of my life. Um, you know, but also that then feeds into uh you know what are our priorities, right? If you're talking about faith-based living, there's sort of an expectation of you know that you're looking at things from an ethical perspective. Um, you know, and I have a general sense of when I'm I'm working projects, when I'm I'm you know doing my daily work, it's like what isn't in the best interests of the most amount of people. That's something that I come back to on a regular basis. And when when I think about that, you know, ultimately you're you're trying to treat people respectfully, you're trying to treat them the right way, you're trying to treat them as you would want to be treated. Um, and so sometimes I don't agree uh with with others on on projects, but you're trying to you're trying to meet them where they're at and try to come to a respectful understanding. You may not totally agree, um, but you try to come to the best conclusion. And so um, you know, when I think about living living out my faith in the workplace, I've had an incredibly supportive environment now, uh, you know, in my post-college jobs. And I really just try to encourage our our staff members and just the community at large um to prioritize it as well.

SPEAKER_00 4:48

So when you are, say, hiring staff, is that something that comes across that you um express that hey, we we expect everyone here working in this office to provide opportunity, or we treat people with dignity and respect?

SPEAKER_01 5:02

Mm-hmm. Yeah, absolutely. We actually have, again, I'm I'm looking back here because all uh you can see um kind of again the vision over here, and we have what are called our guiding principles. So, guiding principles uh really I say that's almost like the the expectation of what I'm holding myself to, but also when I'm looking to hire people. So our guiding principles here in Seward County integrity, respect, leadership, giving or philanthropy, um, and then and then planning. Um, and so though those things resonate when I'm looking for for team members to join us. Uh, that that in some sense I'm looking for that to be a part of who they are at their core. And and I really do think that a lot of those um those elements of our guiding principles fit into that faith-based living. You know, you think about um you think about like giving in philanthropy, for example, you know, you typically don't find people with that generous spirit unless they have some sense of a higher purpose. Um, and so for us, uh, we've just been incredibly fortunate to have some great team members over the years that have really helped us to move the ball towards the field of fulfilling that vision by the year 2035, and that we try to do that every day through our guiding principles.

SPEAKER_00 6:18

And you mentioned you've had some board of directors who have encouraged you to live live out your faith. Can you flesh that out a little bit for us?

SPEAKER_01 6:26

Sure. Um, you know, I I've uh early in my career, uh, you know, I I had some I had some tough moments in particular. And some of that was um, you know, in in economic development chamber of commerce work, you're sort of in a fishbowl. Um and so because it's it's a pretty it's a pretty public uh facing role, um, you know, you're you're held to a certain standard. And it's not just from a life perspective, but from a professional um sort of of uh expectation of performing. And um, and I can tell you because I have a lot of bosses, and it's not just my direct board of directors, but there's a lot of elected and appointed officials that interact with our projects. And again, not everybody's happy with us all the time. Um and so, you know, I'll say I've been through the ringer. Uh, and and times where you you question right, you know, is this the work that I'm being called to do? Um, you know, I've just had I've had some members of my board that have have like physically and spiritually stood up for me uh when it came to questioning um, you know, my my professional uh my professional integrity, my professional competency. Um, and and that's been just such a gift to have people pour into me to believe in me, to trust me, to do the right thing. Um and and really my my hope has been since I've had so many people pour into me that I've really been working hard to try to pour into others through our staff. Um I've had about 40 interns that I've I've now counted over my career, many of them from Concordia University. Um, you know, and that's just been such a gift to sort of pay that forward. Um, you know, when when you're invested in, when people care about you, you try to pass that along in turn.

SPEAKER_00 8:25

Sure. And you mentioned the kind of the public face of your line of work. As you work with many businesses daily, you see people working hard to run successful businesses. What stands out as far as companies you observe that are based on honesty, integrity, and those those kind of principles?

SPEAKER_01 8:42

Yeah, I what I have loved about a number of the businesses that have had long-term sustained success here in Seward County, they're ones that treat people the right way. And when I when I say that, it's um, you know, it's their staff, it's their customers, um, and and they're they're doing good work for a fair price. Um, they're not trying to get rich quick. Um, you know, and what I can tell you, because I've heard I've heard the stories um, you know, where where people will do annual reviews, for example, and they're asking them, what are you doing to give back to the community? That's a part of their annual performance review. I, you know, I don't think that exists everywhere. Um, you know, and and I've heard about just the generosity of family-owned businesses that share profits with with their team members. They don't have to do that, but they choose to do that. They acknowledge they're only as successful as as their team members, you know, work hard to help them be successful. Uh, that's just been so inspiring to me that people are being treated uh in an honorable and a respectful and really just an empowering and inspiring way. Uh, and so in turn, you know, we we really try to do that with our team members here, with the chamber, uh, and and really just try to, when we look, when we're trying to recruit new companies to kind of diversify our local, um our local economy, we're looking for similar companies that have that same mindset, that they're they're coming to a place where they have that generous spirit. They want to be involved, they want their staff to be involved in the community, they want to give back. Um, you know, and that that really has been sort of our North Star as an organization when when it comes to um trying to find future employers that will help continue to grow us here in Seward County.

SPEAKER_00 10:45

Thank you for sharing that. I also wanted to follow up with this idea, I know it's anecdotal, but sometimes people we're in business will will say that, well, companies that are running small towns uh that have to be giving back, have to be uh demonstrating integrity, otherwise they're just not gonna make it. Would you say that that that statement is is true from your experience?

SPEAKER_01 11:07

You know, I I think um I think it's ultimately a choice. And and really there is a difference between um, you know, in in a sense of giving back uh with uh with sort of uh I'll say pure intentions, maybe, um versus maybe I'm just giving back because I have to. There's a difference there. Um and and I've really just found so many of our local companies give back because like that's their heart. Uh that that's the heart of the owners, that's the heart of the managers. They acknowledge the importance of community, they acknowledge the importance of supporting others that need support. You know, just as a perfect example, literally this week, um, here on Tuesday, this past Tuesday, we had the empty soup bowls luncheon. So our Kiwana Service Club puts this on every year, and it raises money for our backpack program. So this is providing kids or food for kids on the weekend that that wouldn't maybe otherwise have a meal on the weekend. And the amount of generosity, I think they said they had almost 600 people show up to that. Um, and the amount of sponsors, you know, corporate sponsors investing in that, um, all the people that many of those are companies then that are serving the soup, all of this is donated uh, you know, to help support this event. Just the acknowledgement, like as a community, we want to care for uh for the most vulnerable among us. Um and that's just it's a beautiful representation of community building, um, investing in um those uh that that really struggle and and need our support. And and our hope then, of course, is that uh, you know, that as they're poured into, they have the opportunity to better themselves and to pour into others in the future.

SPEAKER_00 13:00

That's amazing. Uh let me talk the flip side of that coin, and that is um what are some challenges you you would have observed or you think people would face uh who are Christians, who are out in the marketplace, and maybe they don't have maybe maybe they have challenging situations. What what have you seen that and what kind of challenges do you think people would face uh living out their faith in the workplace?

SPEAKER_01 13:24

Yeah, I I I can tell you no matter where where you go, whether it's you know, Seward County, Nebraska or anywhere, um you know, there there is a sense that um you know, are are people being ethical in the way they're doing business? And and I'll just share, um, when I when I'm thinking of that sort of term or phrase, again, are are you treating people respectfully? Are are you trying to get rich quick? Uh, you know, that that's sort of like, and for for us, we're we're acknowledging that we're needing to be um, we're needing to have strong discernment when we're thinking about the partners that we're that we're connecting with. Because as we think about building our community, our county, uh, we're trying to we see it as a marathon, not a sprint. Um, that we're really trying to be mindful of those partners. We're wanting them to be here for generations. Um, and so trying to do things the right way. And I just think when it comes to trying to that that get rich quick scheme, um, you know, eventually that's a house of cards. That falls down. Um, you're not building something with a firm foundation. Uh, and so, you know, when I think about living out my faith on a regular basis, we're we're consistently looking for people that have a similar value system. We're looking for, we're looking for, you know, uh companies that uh again are treating their people the right way. And and you can see through that pretty, pretty quickly, especially when I'm thinking about some of the site visits that we've had with companies over time. You're really just trying to be mindful of is this someone that's that's going to respect and honor um you know our values here within the community, within the county. Uh, you know, and and for me, I see myself as a steward of that, uh, particularly from someone that that does recruitment as a part of my job. Um, and then I'm thinking about sort of the families that are impacted through those that would have jobs there, uh, for those that would be impacted by that company's generosity. Um, and so living out my faith really is trying to ultimately uh steward um, I would say, the the position of authority that I've been given to try to strategically grow our county, um, you know, and trying to be faithful in that and to try to not do it for my own personal gain, but but to do it ultimately for for a bigger cause, which for us is trying to support um you know, people and families to uh to to live out just uh um a safe and um and fulfilling life here uh in and around Seward County.

SPEAKER_00 16:12

Excellent. Let me ask you a little bit further into that the idea of um, as you mentioned being a good steward. How have you demonstrated honesty? Maybe in when it felt like you were in a situation of having maybe competing uh positions or priorities, and how have you been able to demonstrate honesty in the workplace?

SPEAKER_01 16:34

I would say on a on a consistent basis, um you're you're being asked to um you know, I think to maybe show favor is not quite quite the right term, um, but but you're you're being your sort of interests or um your priorities are being asked to pull in a lot of directions. And um, you know, I I am acknowledging that uh in those decisions when I'm saying what am I going to invest my time, effort, and energy into, again, that sort of like reflection on what is in the best interest of the most amount of people, and not because I'm trying to gain favor with an individual necessarily. Um we from from our position within the community, uh it's a challenge. You know, we have about 300 members within our organization, and um, you know, we have differing sort of membership dues levels. Every business is incredibly important to our county. Uh, you know, they're all uh you know helping um employee people, they're all contributing to uh you know to the tax base. And so just acknowledging that you're trying to be respectful, whether it's a one-person shop to a 400-person employer and everything in between. So you're trying to be um to honor people, and um, no matter where they are in in sort of the business cycle or what sort of role that they play, everybody has inherent value. Um, everybody has um uh deserves our respect and honor. Um and so for us, we we just try to treat people the right way and trust that in that um in that honor that we in turn uh you know are honored and that we have opportunities to to grow and and not um for the sake of growing, but making sure that it's that good fit and that it's gonna be a blessing to uh you know to people and families for for many years to come.

SPEAKER_00 18:39

Well, you've made a very strong argument for uh a person of faith to be in your position. So it seems like you've got an opportunity, an excellent opportunity to to role model that. So how then are you pouring that into others, as you mentioned earlier?

SPEAKER_01 18:53

Yeah, I I really have just been so fortunate, um, both from you know an educational backing standpoint, incredibly generous parents, you know, that were so supportive of me to attend Concordia, um, you know, and fortunate to do both both undergrad and grad work there in the business department. Um, and and that in turn, um, you know, I've had that opportunity to work with with a lot of interns, a lot of staff members, but I'd say especially interns, that maybe this is sort of their their first um job, whether, and we've even had some high school students where you're just trying to teach them what what does um what is being a working professional look like? What what is that what does that feel like? What does it mean to do meaningful work? What does it mean to uh do do honest and to do quality work? Um and so for us, I've really tried to take try to take the stance of um I I want our our interns and our staff members to to have opportunities to uh to to handle projects themselves, to take on a great deal of responsibility, to use their creativity and sort of the gifts that God's given them to the best of their ability. And that um I try to be the the opposite of a micromanager uh with the hope that I'm giving them opportunities to grow and sometimes uh struggle a little bit. And that's not a bad thing, um, you know, because I think we we grow most uh when we struggle. And and what I'll acknowledge too, and maybe back to one of the earlier points around uh, you know, we're in the relationship business. And when I think about some of my closest relationships, it's those that I've had conflict with. And and it's and it's through that reconciliation process that we've been able to grow um stronger in relationship and the opportunities to grow beyond that um and and to do business together. And really, as I think about some of our best interns, um, you know, it's those that uh weren't necessarily the most talented or or had the best ideas, um, but they were willing to, they had a coachable spirit, um, they had a desire to grow, sort of that spirit of curiosity and willingness to learn. And and so again, just uh as I've been given, you know, I've really tried to pour back into other people and just desiring that others have that opportunity to grow and succeed in their working life.

SPEAKER_00 21:31

So if a young professional came up to you and asked uh about how to live out their faith at work, what would you tell them?

SPEAKER_01 21:38

You know, I I think as um you know, I I reflect on what is my day to day uh uh uh I guess living out my faith look like. And and the phrase I tend to come back to is I'm trying to be faithful in the everyday. And what I'm What I mean by that is that you know, I think many things we have in life, um, there's a lot of distractions and we can get pulled in a lot of directions. And but God has put us in certain places with certain areas of influence, interacting with certain people, and just trying to find joy and contentment in what's been put before you and to trust that God will open up doors in the future if you're called to serve somewhere else, and sort of trusting that process. And as I've gotten, as I've gotten older, as I've grown in my career, trying to be faithful in what's put before me every single day, I think to me that is um the best way that I can live out my faith. And I mean, ultimately for for me, I think about how God has been so faithful to us uh through um, you know, when we screw up, that he loves us, that um he share he shows us his grace on a daily basis, um, and that we have that sense of reconciliation um through his forgiveness of sins and what an opportunity we have then to share that with others and how we treat them, um, that what a gift it is to have that given to us, and that we in turn can share that with others.

SPEAKER_00 23:28

That's very powerful. Thank you. Let me uh start to wrap up our time today by asking you what are you reading or listening to? I know you're a busy person, but what are you reading or listening to?

SPEAKER_01 23:39

Yeah, I I say my favorite non-uhbiblical quote is from Charlie Tremendous Jones. And uh he says you'll be the same person you are today five years from now, besides the people you meet and the books you read. So I've really tried to have that spirit of curiosity. Um, you know, I'm reading a book on the Sabbath right now. And interestingly, in our church uh here in town at St. John, where we have our small group ministry, they're called Our Groups, and we're going through a six-week study on the Sabbath. So that's been kind of fun to reflect on a number of Bible passages around that topic of Sabbath and the concept of rest. Um, I can say that in in my life I've been running really hard for a long time and sort of trying to figure out what that looks like when you think about creating a sustainable life, that it's more that marathon, not a sprint mentality, and trying to model that within my workplace, in my family life, uh, you know, and within the community. Um, and so yeah, the book on the Sabbath right now, Dr. Dan Alender uh was one of the authors, and he's really been an influential person uh in my life, um, just through a number of his uh a number of his podcasts and and books. And um, and so yeah, that's what I'm working through right now, and that concept of rest, which is kind of a uh a newer concept for me, but I'm trying to trying to lean into that.

SPEAKER_00 25:06

Oh, absolutely, trying to figure figure out how that creates that balance in our lives. It's very important to figure to get that worked out. Especially because you have a family and children and and uh you're in a very public position at your work. Uh anything else? Any podcast you're listening to? I meant you mentioned one there before. Any others?

SPEAKER_01 25:24

Yeah, well, I was just gonna say we actually have a we have a podcast, Talk Seward County, here um where we share about the things we're doing um, you know, through the chamber. We also have a sister podcast that's called Discover Seward County. So, you know, I of course wanna plug uh some of the stuff we're doing here locally. Um, you know, I I listen to uh a decent amount of TED talks. Um, you know, what what I've really appreciated about sort of that platform is that people are talking about um different uh industries and and research that is totally different from my from my uh background. And I've acknowledged like innovation happens when you are exposed to different areas of expertise. And so I love listening to those podcasts or YouTube videos um to just uh feel like um sort of my uh my knowledge base is challenged, um, you know, that I'm being being curious about things that are totally different from my everyday. Uh so that that's been fun to to learn more uh about some of those topics I wouldn't have otherwise run into.

SPEAKER_00 26:33

Sure. I will put a link to your podcast in the in the show notes for this one. Uh again, Jonathan, I want to thank you for your time. I appreciate it, and uh all the best to you.

SPEAKER_01 26:43

Thanks so much, Kirk. Appreciate it.

SPEAKER_00 26:45

Join us next time on the Skillful at Work Podcast as we interview Christians about living wisely in the workplace and serving as the salt and light at work. If you want to be encouraged and equipped to live your life of faith more effectively in the workplace, the Skillful at Work Podcast is for you.