Getting to Know You: Jeff and Alisha Stamp
Getting to Know You introduces you to pastors and ministry leaders serving throughout the Fellowship of European International Churches. In this edition, we meet Jeff and Alisha Stamp, pastors of True Life KMC in Kaiserslautern, Germany. After years of military service and missionary ministry in Tanzania and Kyrgyzstan, the Stamps are now serving an international congregation connected to one of Europe’s largest U.S. military communities.
Where are you both originally from?
Jeff was born and grew up in the Western United States and Alisha was born into a military family and so lived all over.
Tell me about your background / education.
Jeff went to the US Air Force Academy and joined the Air Force following his graduation. His master’s is from the University of Alabama. Alisha went to the University of Colorado in Boulder and was in AFROTC. She also joined the Air Force following graduation.
Where did you serve in ministry or what were you doing before coming to True Life KMC?
Jeff served in the Air Force for 20 years, Alisha for 10 years. When Jeff retired in 2011, we served for 2 years in Tanzania (2011-2013) and then for 10 years in Kyrgyzstan (2014-2024) before transitioning to Germany and True Life KMC in 2025.
How and when did God lead you to True Life in Kaiserslautern?
In late 2023, we were asking God about what our next steps in ministry might look like. Alisha needed to have more access to health care, and we had a large and growing team in Kyrgyzstan that was taking on the mantle of ministry. That freed us up to ask the question, “Where else can you use us, Lord?” We did some looking around at different AGWM opportunities and discovered Military Ministries and felt the Lord was bringing us back, full circle, to where we had first served, with our military members.
Tell us about the makeup of True Life. Do you know how many nations are represented?
True Life KMC is a mix of US military members, some German military members and civilians, US government civilian contractors, and expats that are looking for an English-speaking place to worship. At least 7 different nations are represented at True Life.
Having military backgrounds yourselves, why are you passionate about serving in a church that primarily focuses on the military?
We love the opportunity to disciple our next generation of military members and help instill in them the DNA of missions and “going” into all the world to preach the Gospel. They were willing to serve their country, and whether it’s for 4 years or 20 years, at some point that service will be completed and so why would they not look to continue in obedience and service to our Lord and King?!
Describe some of the ministries in which the church is active.
We have active Men’s and Women’s Ministries that not only reach our own church members but include local nationals, people from other churches, and encourages our own congregants to invite their neighbors and co-workers that haven’t heard the Good News to our events! We are also associated with some local para-church ministries like Rhema Cafe that is a Military Resiliency Center offering accountability groups and counseling, Hope 4 Life that offers reproductive and health support groups, and Kainos that ministers to trafficked women in the area and seeks to educate our troops on how they can break the cycle of trafficking.
What makes your city unique in terms of culture, international atmosphere, and Christian impact?
The Kaiserslautern area has many people that are mobile and not from the local area. There is an international feeling with so many Americans and other nationalities being present. We have many English-speaking churches in the area because of the influence and presence of the US military that other parts of Germany do not have.
What attracted you to international church/military church ministry?
The opportunity to give back to our original “people group”…the US military. We both have spent so much of our formative years and early marriage in the military environment that we feel like we speak the language and understand the needs on a level that not everyone might fully grasp. We instantly feel connections with fellow military members that give a deepness and a bond that is rather unexplainable. It allows an ability to counsel and speak into their lives, and we do not take that gift for granted!
What do you see as some of the most pressing challenges members of the military face?
The work and deployment pace has been grueling in recent years and the separation from family and friends, living in a foreign culture, and the financial burdens that they face can cause an inordinate amount of stress on a family. The moving every few years can also leave family members feeling “rootless” and many locals, both here in Germany and in the US, as soon as they find out you are military and will only be around for a couple of years pull away and don’t feel the need to go deep in relationship as a defense mechanism in order to not feel hurt when the military member leaves.
What challenges do you face personally as pastors of an international church?
Not having a full-time staff means we fill many positions as people come and go from the community on a regular basis. Many couples that we counsel are from different nationalities and so helping them to communicate when they each come from different cultural and language backgrounds can add another level of stress and miscommunication within their relationship and pushes us to go deeper and learn new skills.
What have you learned about international church ministry in the short time that you’ve been serving there?
Never make assumptions! Always ask the clarifying questions! We’ve worked cross-culturally for 15 years with AGWM but also had overseas time working with people internationally while in the Air Force, so this isn’t totally new ground for us, but it’s still something we’re working on and always improving and allowing God to open our eyes and hearts to how other people live, serve, obey, and worship.
What do you find fulfilling about serving at True Life?
We get the chance to reach and disciple as many people as we can with the Gospel, especially those with whom we have shared experience…our US military members and their families.
How can fellow FEIC pastors pray for you?
Particularly with the summer move cycle, we are having to rebuild most of our church’s ministry and program leaders. Please pray for wisdom and the right people to step up!
