Jodi grew up in small-town Minnesota and earned degrees in music and philosophy from Concordia College. After touring internationally with the Concordia Choir and surviving a near-fatal illness in Norway, she relocated to California, where she worked as a professional musician. A season of personal struggle with sin and brokenness eventually led her on a nine-month solo backpacking journey through Europe in search of deeper meaning.

Her life was transformed when she encountered Jesus, leading her into ministry. Jodi became part of a church-planting team in the Bay Area, where she met and later married Eric Van Rhee. In 1999, they moved to Draper, Utah with their four young children to plant The Adventure, a Christian church in the heart of Mormon country. Together, they co-pastored until 2016, when Jodi stepped into the role of senior pastor just weeks before Eric unexpectedly passed away.

Under their leadership, The Adventure grew into a multi-site church with nine locations across Utah and Idaho, and twelve more in the Philippines, along with an orphanage. Jodi earned a Master of Arts in Strategic Leadership from Life Pacific University in 2022 and continues to pastor, evangelize, speak at conferences, and serve the Body of Christ globally.
Jodi enjoys people, traveling, hiking, Pickleball, music, and spending time with her seven grandchildren—her greatest joy of all.