Life Story

I grew up a pastor’s kid in a suburb of Los Angeles. I loved my church, Awana, and getting to be around my friends all the time. I also loved the attention I got for being the pastor’s kid. I was under the impression that my parents’ faith counted for me, but in the summer before 4th grade, I went to a camp where the speaker talked about faith being your own and not anyone else’s. This stuck with me, and I went to talk with my mom. She walked through the gospel with me, and I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior. 

Right before high school, we moved from L.A. to a small town in Ohio with only 3,000 people. My dad was still a pastor, but now it was for the whole town. While I still enjoyed being a pastor’s kid, the attention started to feel more stressful. I got really good at acting how people wanted me to act while living however I wanted in secret. For the latter part of high school, and then my entire time in college, I pursued the world and what it had to offer. After years of these empty pursuits, I graduated from college with a nursing degree, but unsure of what I wanted to do with my life. As I filtered through my options, I ended up deciding to try a job as a camp nurse for a Christian summer camp in northern Michigan. I thought it would be a fun summer before I went and got a hospital nursing job. 

That summer, the Lord drew me back to Him. Through my time in the back of the chapel hearing the sermons meant for young kids, talking with the other staff about what it looked like to be a young adult and pursue Christ, and pouring into the next generation, I rededicated my life to the Lord and began to feel a call to pursue ministry. After two years of working at the camp, I moved down to Texas for an internship where the Lord affirmed my call to ministry. 

After moving to Texas, I met my amazing wife, Melanie, and we find such joy in partnering together to serve in ministry. We have been blessed with two sons, Myles and Maddox, and are eager to see how the Lord will continue to guide our family forward.

Hope for The Village Church

I hope that we would be a people who are passionate about reaching those far from the Lord, encouraging those pursuing the Lord, and are able to confidently say, “Follow me as I follow Christ.”