Logansport preacher Scott Jewell was parking his car at his home, back when he lived in St. Louis, when he saw a strange man on his porch. Scott thought to himself “Who is on my porch?”As he got out of the car, he saw someone he didn’t recognize.   

“As the man walked towards me, I had no clue who he was,” Jewell said. “Then, I saw him give me the biggest grin. As he smiled at me, I instantly knew who it was.” 

Back when Jewell was in St. Louis, he had a neighbor who was a rapper. The neighbor’s rapper name was Tragic. According to Jewell, every time he saw him, he would always be high and taking marijuana. 

“His name was Tragic due to all the bad things that happened in his life,” Jewell said. “He was such a good rapper, that another rapper, named Chingy, offered to do a national tour with him.”

However, according to Jewell, Tragic no longer wanted to be another tragic story. One day, Tragic had the urge to put the drugs down when he passed by a church and decided he no longer wanted to be a man who was so focused on his tragic past. He instead became Saved, and along with this new name, Saved now had a wife and kids.

“When I saw Saved again, I realized he never did the national tour,” Jewell said. “When Saved saw Chingy he told him, ‘I would love to go on tour, but I gotta rap about Jesus.’ So, sadly Chingy told him, ‘You can either rap that gangster rap you’ve been doing, or you can walk away.’ So, Saved walked away.”

Scott was amazed at the drastic changes that could happen in people’s lives if they put their minds to it. Everyone has their journey, and while Saved is not an ordained minister, a person doesn’t have to have a job as a minister to act like one.  

“Some plant seeds, others water them,” Jewell said.

For some people, it’s as simple as deciding this is what they want to do.

“Back when I was in grade school, I had a couple of older ladies, which I sometimes referred to as my Yodas because they were very wise and short, and they sort of led me towards ministry from a very young age,” Jewell said.

Jewell at first was undecided about what he wanted to do. He had inspiring people in his life who helped him along the way.

“After my sophomore year, I went to a college-hosted camp where I could learn different types of engineering to see what I would like to do,” Jewell said. “By the end of the week, I knew engineering was not for me, and about a month later, I was at a week of church camp and a number of things happened to me that week that helped me understand that God had wired me into a people person. I knew I needed to commit to living out what I believed and dedicate my life to helping people find Jesus and grow in their faith.” 

Jewell, like other ministers, does more than preach.

“It’s hard to describe an everyday routine for ministry,” Jewell said. “There’s a lot of variety. I spend my day by personally reading my bible as well as working out at the Y. Then, I head to McDonald’s, where I can get my lessons prepared while also visiting people in the community. I also spend a couple of lunchtimes a week at LJHS and LIS to visit with our students and be a support to those who need it. I’ve also been blessed with the opportunity to be involved with student athletics as a football and track coach at the junior high.”

A person doesn’t have to go to college or preach to be a minister, anyone can be fishers of men.

“I would like to think I’ve made an impact, but the credit goes to God,” Jewell said. “He has given me so many opportunities to speak into people’s lives, counseling them to trust in him as we work through their struggles together. It’s always amazing to see someone catch a glimpse of the hope they can have through Jesus Christ.”