As of January 2014, I accepted a call from University Baptist Church in Macomb, IL to become their pastor and my family and I are honored and excited about the ministry field that God has moved us to. Though a few of our friends may be skeptical because of how far North it is (because they are Southerners), God has given me big dreams and I hope that through His strength and the willingness of members of the church we will together reach higher than we alone could ever think possible.
I have served at numerous other church in my past, some good, and others, well… we are all human with human desires and sins and sometimes even those with the best intentions can fail to see the truth of their sinfulness. I am not saying I am perfect in any way, far from it, but my goal is to always preach the truth of God’s word, regardless of the toes that get stomped on in the process. Face it, we all need to hear it.
I am a graduate of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. In May of 2011 I graduated with a Diploma of Divinity in Christian Ministries, which is the equivalent of a Master’s of Divinity, but since I do not possess a bachelors degree, the seminary is unable to bestow on me a Master’s degree. I chose this path because I answered the call to ministry later in life and my intention for seminary training was not to gain letters after my name, but to prepare myself for ministry. I was excited to find that Southern had made available this diploma program for people just like myself, those who felt the need for formal seminary training but who do not want to delay serving the church.
My goal is to find the place that God has for us where my wife and I may invest our lives. It has always been my desire to invest myself into both a local church body as well as the community. I believe that longevity in anything that we do is important, but even more so in ministry. The church is to be a family and that type of unity takes time to develop. My prayer is that God grant me the wisdom and opportunity to serve and grow in one church over the course of my entire ministry if possible, but God reigns and we will follow wherever he leads.
Amy has served as a Sunday School teacher for Middle School Girls. She has also worked with youth as a chaperone, she has helped in AWANA and has served on various mission trips. She currently leads our youth and helps me with College Ministry.
Our son, Isaiah is now married and is starting his family. He has served in both Music and Drama ministry, and has also served on the student leadership team while at Kings. Isaiah has also worked with the multimedia ministry. However, the best part about our son is also on a path to become a pastor and we cannot be more proud of he and his wife Faith.
Amy and I have been part of 6 foreign mission trips, 5 to Honduras and 1 to Romania and are always looking for opportunities to organize and lead mission trips for people who may have never had such an experience because we know what kind of a life changing ministry it is, for both the people we are on mission to reach, but for the teams as well.
While on the mission field in Romania, we were able to participate and help to lead a Pastor’s Conference, a couple of children’s camps, a week-long VBS, and I was able to preach at various locations around the area. This was the first time Amy had played a pivotal role in leadership on one of our trips and she did an outstanding job.
In Honduras, we have went door-to-door doing evangelism, let numerous children’s ministry events, and have held services all over the country. We have also been involved in building projects, feeding programs, and clothing ministry.
Every trip brings new excitement and adventures and we look forward to everyone.
We have also recently been blessed to be able to visit the Holy Land with other pastors in Illinois. We look forward to bringing others over in the future to be able to experience the things that we were able to, so they too can walk where Jesus walked, and experience the Bible come to life.
In our ministry we have come to realize that our lives are not to be for our service but they are to be 4 His Service! Will you join us?