I was born in Bismarck, ND and was raised there until I was about 10 years old, then lived in Kingman, AZ through High School (somehow, I graduated). A big part of my story was my parents’ divorce when I was five. I knew my parents loved me but there was a lot of chaos and uncertainly growing up, never living in one place too long and experiencing lots of problems. I grew up without God in my life, biblically illiterate and unchurched. As I entered my teen years, after the death of my uncle and various disappointments, I would mock and put down people who claimed faith in God – God couldn’t be real, I reasoned, because if he was real he wouldn’t have let my uncle die, nor would he have allowed some of the things I experienced. I was angry, fearful, lonely, one of the shyest people you could ever meet, without hope or faith in anything, just drifting through life and hoping for happiness.

I watched a football game with a guy holding up a John 3:16 sign when I was nineteen. When I looked in a Bible to see what the verse said, God spoke through his Word dramatically and unexpectedly. For the first time I really heard the gospel - God so loved people (like my uncle) that he gave his Son as a sacrifice to save them! My stance towards God changed instantly (how had I not understood his loving character before this?). It took me awhile to personalize the message that I had a problem with God because of my sin and that Jesus died to save me. But I soon believed the gospel and when I trusted in the Lord for my salvation, God gave me peace and hope, joy and purpose - I had never known any of these before! One of the most shocking transformations in my life was the newfound power to speak publicly in front of people. 

After a stint in the U.S. Navy that solidified my faith, I was blessed to marry Elizabeth in 1993 and we now have three adult children (all married) and are grateful to be grandparents. I graduated from Multnomah Bible College in 1997 and North American Baptist Seminary in 2000. From 2001-2003 we were missionaries in the Philippines with the hopes of planting churches, but due to health issues we returned to the States. We began serving Living Water Bible Fellowship in January of 2004 and are happy to call Alamosa home.