At Stake Ministries was born out of brokenness. To the outside world, Norm and Jen appeared to have “the American dream.” But their packed schedules ran them ragged often leaving little time for each other. Eventually, division began to take root in their marriage. This division affected their work and deeply impacted their three children.
Over time, God began to reveal Norm and Jen’s need for counsel. Through the prompting of Christian friends, sermons, and Christian radio, they realized they desired more for their relationship and family. They attended a three-day intensive counseling service geared towards bringing wholeness and healing in their marriage. Through this experience, the Lord revealed their true issues and needs. Moreover, he showed them what it meant to be united and love one another despite these issues. They learned to identify their unique pain(s) from the past, obtain freedom, break free from strongholds, and find restoration in their marriage.
After restoring and elevating Norm and Jen’s marriage, the Lord placed a desire in their hearts to do the same for others. And thus, At Stake Ministries was born. While the journey hasn’t always been easy, they are grateful God is using ASM for His glory in order to minister to others.

In 2010, Norm and Jen gathered seven close friends together and shared their vision. This small group prayer together, discerned God's calling, planned, and became the formation board for what was to become At Stake Ministries.

While the group waited to become an official 501c3, they looked for a place to call home. Norm and Jen were meeting with different couples, giving them the reason for their hope and standing alongside of them until they too could experience an Intensive Biblical Counseling for themselves. After completing a master's degree in Pastoral Counseling, Norm and Jen completed their intensive counselor training through Caring for the Heart Ministries.

Our first location in the heart of Salina was small, surrounded with noise, packed with traffic, and was a huge blessing. During those first few years we were able to see many couples, individuals, families, and youth. We were able to discern for God, that our premiant location would be a peaceful setting where our counselees could escape from the pressures of everyday life.

After hiring our first fulltime counselor, we formed a property search committee and started looking to our future home. A couple years later we started to settle into our 80-acre estate just north of Brookville, Kansas. Over the course of time, we have added walking trails, prayer stations, and lodging for our multi-day intensive counseling guests.

Thank you to all our counselee and partners who have prayed over us and supported us from the moment our founders started to dream and pray!