Dan Hettinger

Dan Hettinger learned to enjoy baseball growing up in his hometown, Williamsport, PA., also the birth place of Little League baseball. He played catch with his brother, Jim, almost everyday and, with kids in the neighborhood, turned every vacant lot and field into their "big league" ball park.

Williamsport's Bowman Field, is the second oldest Minor League ball park in the country and the place where Dan and Jim, in one summer of frequent ball park outtings, scarfed up 21 foul balls, home run balls and begged out of the bull-pen balls.

He didn't attend his first Big League game until he was out of college so after all these years, a summer afternoon or evening at the ball-park is one of his greatest enjoyments and brings back a thousand happy feelings and memories.

Dan's carreer spanned 35 years of service to God and man in a variety of church ministry positions (Youth Pastor, Small Church Pastor, Ministry Coordinator, Church Planter, Community Life Director) from Warren, Ohio to Castle Rock, CO--with Delray Beach, FLA, Princeton, NJ, Lawrenceville, GA in between. He worked with The Christian and Missionary Alliance, Non-Denominational and Presbyterian churches. Dan believes that every word of God's, even when spoken by Dan, does not return empty but produces immeasurable results. There are no insignificant people and no unimportant places in serving God so Dan writes and speaks to encourage people with the truth that their LIFE MATTERS. He founded The Jakin Group as a ministry of encouragement and is excited to see it's territory increase with the use of Welcome to the Big Leagues as his cornerstone publication.

The value of every life and the importance of each chapter of life is never more apparent than in Dan's current work with Hospice of Saint John. Dan directs the Pastoral Care Department in the one of the oldedst Hospices in the country and the one that has more Chaplains per patient than any other hospice.

Besides baseball, Dan likes to ski, ride his bike over Colorado's mountain passes and climb 14ers--he has summitted 17 of the Rocky Mountains highest peaks.

Along with his wife Susan and daughter Angie, they live in Colorado. Their sons, Danny and Andrew live with their wives and sons in New Philadelphia, Ohio and Austin, Texas.