Rev. John L. Geissler was born to a working family in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His dad worked for a steel mill. The death of his mother when he was 12 pushed John into a decade-long depression which resulted is his continued rebellion against all forms of authority and a long-lasting anger against God for his mother’s death.
John first turned to nursing and received training for a year and a half. During that time he sensed a call from God to pursue a vocation in pastoral ministry. He asked for God’s forgiveness for his misdeeds and the past years of anger and bitterness.
John moved to Ohio and attended Dayton Bible College from 1979-1981 and obtained an associates’ degree in Biblical Studies. John also pastored a small church in Troy during college.
His arrival in Sidney occurred when he received a call in 1989 to come to the Faith Fellowship Church and be its pastor. As the church congregation was small and its resources meager, he owned a decorating company selling wall fabrics to earn additional income. Rev. Geissler became a full-time pastor in 1995 and served there until 2002.
It was during that tenure he had the idea to open a food pantry. He quickly found out food insecurity was a major problem in Sidney. He called the program ‘Agape,’ which is the Greek word for sacrificial love.
The pantry grew much faster than expected and outstripped the ability of his small church to support it. Geissler developed a sustainability model. It was created by providing other non-profits with discounted retail and wholesale products necessary to meet the needs of their clients. The profits from the placement of products help finance the food pantry.
He also established a mobile rural food pantry in 2009 and delivered food to hundreds of underserved residents out in the county. As a result of this program, Shelby County is the only Ohio county with 100% food coverage.
The first building housing Agape operations was purchased in 1998. Installation of freezers and coolers from 2005 to 2012 enabled Agape to store and manage up to 5 truckloads of goods at a time.
Agape now conducts its operations in multiple locations. Several staff members and dozens of volunteers. Agape Distribution now serves over 8,200 Shelby County residents who have no other source for food. In 2021, Agape served a total of 45,000 persons.
God also placed a call on John’s heart to help spread the Gospel to all corners of the world. His international ministry began in 1983 and is now entering its 40th year.
Some highlights of his personal missionary travels are as follows:
•Mission trips to Russia and nearby areas. Beginning in 2003, John made his first of 35 trips to Russia. His travels have taken him to the Baltic States eight times former Soviet Republic states 26 times. The trips consist of John mentoring and coaching local Christian pastors and lay leaders.
• Beginning in 2011, John and other volunteers went to China 15 times to train underground pastors. One trip included a foray into North Korea. In all, over 1650 pastor have been trained.
•He began working with Native Americans beginning in 1983 at the Sandy Lake Ontario reservation. This began a decades- long relationship with Native Americans.
•John organized a Haitian mission in 1985 to provide humanitarian aid for storm victims
•From 1999 until 2002 Agape shipped goods to Sierra Leone and the Blood Diamonds War victims. This later became the thesis for an honorary doctorate degree awarded to Rev. Geissler.
•John traveled to Pakistan from 2005 to 2011 on six different occasions. His team established multiple medical clinics. Al Qaeda investigated and Rev. Geissler was later deported for blasphemy against Allah for preaching Christ.
•In Manipur, India, John was the first American to visit 3 tribal groupings. The only other outsiders in the area had been the Japanese during WW II.
In all, John has been engaged in preaching, teaching, and delivering medical and humanitarian services in 45 countries.