Jeff Shellum

Meet Jeff

I was born and raised in Fort Worth Texas. I grew up in a Christian home with my parents and older brother. At a young age, I understood the Gospel and prayed to receive Jesus as my savior. However, this carried little weight in my life, and I did not understand the depths of God’s love for us. This led to struggles with people pleasing and self-loathing.

In middle school, my family switched churches to go to a new church plant, Watermark Fort Worth. Through getting placed into a small group and several summers at Pine Cove Christian Camps, I began to understand the weight of the Gospel. The Lord revealed to me that Jesus was not just my plane ticket to Heaven, but rather He is a savior who loved me enough to die a painful death on the cross because He wants to have a relationship with me. This changed everything!

In high school, I continued to grow in my faith while still wrestling with the approval of man. I decided to attend Texas A&M University because I wanted to major in Animal Science and become a veterinarian. During my freshman year at A&M, I hit a rock bottom after joining a party organization and feeling extremely isolated. At this low point, the Lord met with me unconditional love and taught me what it meant to have a real, abiding relationship with Jesus. I learned what it meant lay everything at the feet of Jesus, to walk intimately with Him, and to allow Him to speak into the lies I was believing.

Throughout college, I got more and more involved in Christian ministries like BYX, Pine Cove, Impact, and Kamp Love. In this season of growth, I met my now wife, Lainie Shellum. At the end of college, I felt an increasing desire from the Lord to work in ministry. So, I applied and got accepted into the Watermark Institute! I graduated in May of 2025, married my best friend on 7/11, moved to Dallas, and started the Institute.

While in the Institute, I applied to become the Watermark Kids 4th and 5th Grade Coordinator. I am absolutely honored to be in this role and am so excited for what the Lord is going to do in the lives of the next generation.

On my time off, you’ll see me and Lainie playing pickleball, playing spades or board games with friends, chowing down on Chuys creamy J, and binge-watching seasons of Survivor!