About

My name is Jason Salamun and thanks for stopping by.

I’m a leader/writer/pastor/activist/thinker/creative-type.  Beyond that, I’m basically a recovering hypocrite who’s striving to keep it real. And while I take God seriously, I try not to take myself too seriously.

I am also the founding pastor of Project Church; a gospel-driven community in Rapid City, SD committed to joining God in his mission in the world.

I met and married my wife, Gwyn in 2000 and we have two children, Reece and Regan, and are proud to call the Black Hills our home.

You can find me on Facebook and follow my journey on Twitter.

Here’s a Q & A I did if you’d like to learn a little more about me.

10 Questions with Jason

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1. What do you do at Project Church?
I do most of teaching on Sundays, quite a bit of the design, and oversee the big picture vision and strategy for the church along with some other leaders.

2. As a Christian leader, who are your influences?
Outside of Jesus, I’ve been greatly influenced by my parents, Russ & Dalaina Salamun. They were missional before missional was cool.

I’m also thankful for notable authors, pastors, and theologians who make much of Jesus such as C.S. Lewis, Tim Keller, Martin Luther, G.K. Chesterton, Dallas Willard, Francis Chan, N.T. Wright, Brennan Manning, Charles Spurgeon, Eugene Peterson, Mark Driscoll, Alan Hirsch, and Rick Warren. I could go on.

3. Where did you grow up?
I moved to Rapid City, SD when I was 11 and prior to that, I was born and raised in Lubbock, Texas (home of Buddy Holly). Every once in a while my ya’ll slips out and I also learned at a very young age never, ever, ever mess with Texas.

4. How did you meet your wife?
In 1999, I met my best friend and wife, Gwyn, through some mutual friends at a Mario Party and it was love at first sight. Who knew the video game, Mario Cart, could spark a love story?

5. What is something most people don’t know about you?
When I was 16, I was selected as one of the top 200 Christian youth leaders in the U.S. and went to a leadership conference in Israel. It was a pretty amazing experience and quite a shocker for this South Dakota boy who was pretty unsure of his faith at the time.

6. Besides the Bible, what’s one book that had a profound impact on you?
The Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning. Everyone should read it. I reread it once a year.

7. What musical artists are you into?
I have a varied taste. I dig indie/rock from the likes of The Avett Brothers and Sufjan Stevens to outlaw country from guys like Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings to jazz from the likes of John Coltrane and Miles Davis to vintage stuff from The Beatles and Leonard Cohen to CCM artists such as Derek Webb and Five Iron Frenzy to bands like U2 and Hootie and the Blowfish.

8. What are some things on your bucket list?
Here are a handful of them: I’d like to write books that people read, take a European tour with friends, experience my 50th wedding anniversary, help start 100 churches and life-giving causes, and be on Saturday Night Live.

9. Who were your childhood heroes growing up?
Hulk Hogan, Nolan Ryan, Bill Cosby, Johnny Carson, Mr. T, and Reggie White. (I watched a lot of television and sports as a kid).

10. Any favorite quotes?
So many to choose from, but I’ll leave you with five.

A lyric from the Leonard Cohen song, “Anthem”:
“There is crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in.”

Insightful words from the great theologian, The Tick:
“Destiny’s powerful hand has made the bed of my future, and it’s up to me to lie in it…And you don’t fight destiny. No sir. And, you don’t eat crackers in the bed of your future, or you get all… scratchy.”

Thought-provoking quote from author Anne Lamott:
“You can safely assume that you’ve created God in your own image when it turns out that God hates all the same people you do.”

Encouraging words from Teddy Roosevelt:
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better.

The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”

This quote from John Piper messed me up (in a good way):
“The critical question for our generation-and for every generation-is this: If you could have heaven, with no sickness, and with all the friends you ever had on earth, and all the food you ever liked, and all the leisure activities you ever enjoyed, and all the natural beauties you ever saw, all the physical pleasures you ever tasted, and no human conflict or any natural disasters, could you be satisfied with heaven, if Christ was not there?”

Thanks for stopping by.

Jason

jsalamun[at]gmail[dot]com