Once the family  moved to pastor the God’s Missionary Church in Spring Garden, Pennsylvania, the Plank boys enrolled as Academy students in Penn View Christian Academy.  As a high schooler, James began catching the eye of another high schooler, Marie Zechman.  The two dated off and on through their school days.  Following graduation from high school, James attended college at Penn View Bible Institute.  He would travel many years in Public Relation groups for the school, an opportunity that would help him to meet holiness people all over the United States. In May of 1993 James graduated from the ministerial program and in June, he and Marie were married at Rooke Chapel, Lewisburg, Pennsylvania.

In July of 1994, James began pastoring the Beavertown God’s Missionary Church. Two children were then added to the Plank home, Jamison and Jennifer.  While pastoring, James became a well known evangelist and also used his expertise to train preacher boys, as Director of the Ministerial Department of Penn View Bible Institute.  He also was elected as Vice-President of the Bus and Outreach Convention. Rev. Plank worked extensively with the IHC and with Leonard Sankey, serving as Assistant General Secretary since 2006. During this time he also served as Editor of the Convention Herald. On April 21, 2015, the Search Committee presented the name of James Plank to the Convention Committee in nomination and he was subsequently elected to succeed Leonard Sankey as General Secretary at the conclusion of his term, April 2016. We know that Rev. James Plank will lead the convention in a powerful way.