MEET OUR TEAM

Jaco Booyens

Abolitionist. Pastor. Strategist. Filmmaker. Cultural Reformer.

Founder/CEO of Jaco Booyens Ministries (JBM)

Jaco Booyens is a native South African and proud American citizen. For more than two decades, Jaco has been at the forefront of a global movement to end sexual exploitation and restore hope to the broken. His life’s work unites policy, media, and ministry to defend the innocent, empower survivors, and transform culture through truth and faith.

Through JBM, Jaco partners with law enforcement, legislators, and educators to protect children and stop exploitation before it begins. The ministry equips communities through training, advocacy, and awareness initiatives that strengthen prevention, improve prosecution, and advance healing. Jaco’s leadership has helped shape groundbreaking legislation, from age-verification laws to specialized Human Trafficking Courts, while inspiring countless others to rise up and take a stand for freedom.

Jaco’s fight is deeply personal. His younger sister survived six years of sex trafficking, and what the enemy meant for evil, God used for good. Their shared journey ignited a mission rooted not in despair, but in the promise of restoration, that even in the deepest brokenness, freedom and healing are possible through faith and action.

Today, Jaco continues to speak across the nation and around the world, sharing a message that blends truth with grace, justice with mercy, and action with hope. His vision is clear: to see a generation set free, a culture redeemed, and a world where no child is ever trafficked.

The JBM Team

Tami Barrier

Executive Director

Dan Funk

Director of Production

Ilonka Deaton

Director of Policy & Legislation

Philipa Booyens

Women's Ministry Director & Host of Katie & Philipa

Sophia Pengra

Executive Director,
The Way Ranch

Kelley Inman

Administrative Director of Operations, The Way Ranch

Mark Burger

Property Manager,
The Way Ranch

Tharina Booyens

Program Developer,
Education K-12

Summer Elliott

Communications Director

Katie Walker

Women's Ministry Coordinator & Host of Katie & Philipa

Bjorn Booyens

Director of Advocacy,
JBM South Africa

Daniel Russell

Media Producer

Emily Tutwiler

Creative Brand Strategist

“One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple.”

Psalm 27:4

“If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”

2 Chronicles 7:14

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”

Philippians 4:6

“God comforts believers during their afflictions, enabling them to extend that same comfort to others who are suffering.”

2 Corinthians 1:4

“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”

Galatians 6:9

“Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”

Ephesians 5:1-2

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”

Colossians 3:23-24

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

John 1:1

“The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me…”

Psalm 23

“I have swept away your offenses like a cloud, your sins like the morning mist. Return to me, for I have redeemed you.”

Isaiah 44:22

“I [the Lord] will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with My eye upon you.”

Psalm 32:8

“The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.”

Exodus 14:14

“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.”

John 17:20-21

“Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.”

Hebrews 12:28-29