diff --git a/lib/engines/jade.js b/lib/engines/jade.js
index fe8d36d..f381673 100644
--- a/lib/engines/jade.js
+++ b/lib/engines/jade.js
@@ -37,17 +37,24 @@ function getTemplate(template) {
 
 exports.render = function(template, data) {
   init();
+  if (!store._templates) {
+    store._templates = {};
+  }
 
   if (!/\.jade$/.test(template)) {
     template = template + '.jade';
   }
 
-  var filename = getTemplate(template);
-  if (!filename) {
-    throw new Error('template ' + template + ' not found.');
-  }
+  var fn = store._templates[template];
+  if (!fn) {
+    var filename = getTemplate(template);
+    if (!filename) {
+      throw new Error('template ' + template + ' not found.');
+    }
 
-  var fn = jade.compile(file.read(filename), {filename: filename});
+    fn = jade.compile(file.read(filename), {filename: filename});
+    store._templates[template] = fn;
+  }
 
   data = _.defaults(data, store.globals);
   return fn(data);