As a youth his parents taught Jeff to live with integrity and hard work. His extensive involvement in sports helped prepare him for team work and leadership. He trusted Christ as Savior in 1973 through the ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ while a freshmen at St. Cloud State University in St. Cloud, MN. During his college years, he was actively involved with CCC. He graduated in 1977 with a degree in Criminal Justice Studies and Sociology and planned to be a police officer but God had another plan.

After college, God led Jeff to work at Midwest Challenge in Minneapolis from 1977-84. MWC is a Christ-centered residential discipleship program for drug addicts, homeless, prostitutes, prisoners and the like. He handled all kinds of ministries like: street outreach, jail and prison visitation, counseling, cooking, cleaning toilets and eventually became program director. In spring of 1979 he was transferred to Willmar, MN to open a new MWC center and serve as the program director.

While serving at MWC, Jeff met Mary Ann Hartzell. She was raised in Minneapolis in a home where her parents led her to the Lord at a young age and were instrumental in directing her toward missions. When she was in high school, she knew God was calling her to serve as a missionary. After taking secretarial courses in college, she worked in the office and was a live-in counsellor at MWC. Mary Ann left in September 1978 to serve for 9 months with Sudan Interior Missions (SIM) as a secretary in Maradi, Niger, West Africa. During the time Mary Ann was in Africa, Jeff knew the Lord was calling him to commit his life to serving as a missionary wherever in the world God would send him. A few months after Mary Ann's return, they were married in December 1979. Shortly after their son Amos was born, they were transferred back to Minneapolis in 1981.

During the early years of their marriage, they searched for a mission agency that would allow them to do the same type of ministry as MWC but in a foreign country. Every door they knocked on was closed because it was not a common form of missionary work. Finally, they heard a message given by then International Director of Action International Ministries, Doug Nichols. Within 4 months, the Andersons joined ACTION in order to serve in Manila, Philippines among street children and their families, prostitutes, prisoners and the poor. One month after they were accepted, their daughter Micah Ann was born.

The Andersons arrived in Manila in December 1985 and have served there up to the present time with ACTION. Their son Amos earned his Ph.D. in Computational Chemistry from Caltech in Pasadena, CA in 2009. He is currently living and working in Pasadena, CA. Their daughter Micah earned a degree in Kinesiology with minors in Bible and Inter-cultural Studies at Northwestern College in St. Paul, MN. She served as a Staff Sergeant with the Minnesota Army National Guard and is a veteran for 2 deployments in Iraq in 2005 and 2009. Micah was married on January 9, 2010 to Daniel Scott.

Jeff was ordained in 1993 and served as ACTION Philippine's field director from 2001 to 2010. He is currently the leader of ministries to street children and their families and the disaster relief and development ministry. He is the Associate International Director of ACTION. Mary Ann serves as Jeff’s assistant. They are members of Grace Church in Eden Prairie, MN. Jeff has authored or edited numerous publications and papers, including "Restoring Children of the Streets: A Guide for Mobilizing and Equipping God's People Around the World". Jeff also serves on the steering committee of the 180° Alliance: United Global Action with Street Children strategy group for ministering to street children around the world in cooperation with Viva Network.

Jeff and Mary Ann are committed to raising the awareness of churches, both in the Philippines and around the world, to the needs of street children and their families; assisting local churches in developing and sustaining programs to minister to them, by equipping churches with materials, training and personnel; and networking committed churches and agencies together into a stronger, more effective team for ministry. One such project involves camps throughout the year, where local churches and agencies work together to minister to street children away from the environment of the streets.