I was fortunate to grow up in a church-going family where Jesus was the center of all our activities. I spent the first 18 years of my life under the teaching of Tim LaHaye and David Jeremiah. Upon entering college I was taught by John Maxwell. At the time I did not realize how big of an impact and how fortunate I was to have this kind of heritage, but I would find out later as my ministry grew.

I began ministry completely by accident. I became the worship leader for North Coast Presbyterian Church (NCPC) at the ripe age of 23. Even though we grew and many people came to know the Lord, no education or experience made this a trial by fire. This would prove to help me grow into the next phase of my ministry.

Four years later while leading worship at NCPC, a small church plant consisting of 20 attendees (including all cats and dogs) approached me to lead worship for them. While this seemed out of the blue for me, I felt that God was directing me to make this change – so I did. I spent the next 11 years of my ministry with them helping EastLake Community Church grow from 20 people to over 5,000 people. This was an amazing time of growth for me both spiritually and professionally. A church growing at an exponential rate forced me to learn how to be a leader and pastor people. Speaking in front of a large group of people had its benefits as well, but I felt like God was moving me to do more. And He was…

In 2005 my family of five packed up and moved to Fort Wayne, Indiana to plant a church from scratch. I teamed up with a local pastor and together we launched The Pointe Church with a core group of 25 people meeting in the local movie theater. God blessed us and we launched the church with 579 people on the first Sunday. Over the next four years the church would ebb and flow in its growth as most young churches do, but it was a strong body of believers making an impact in the local community. I would continue to develop my worship leader and biblical teaching, as I was the Executive Pastor during this time. But…

It was time for a change. Even though we were having great success, we felt God was moving us again. Mainly because my wife developed severe health issues due to the allergenic environment of that area. My ministry has always been my family first, so we needed to make a change. Moving back to the Southern California area was the most logical place to be for my wife to recover and be with family. We felt as if God was asking us to leap before we looked – so we leaped.

Even though it is unclear now I know that God has brought us back to the Southern California region for a purpose greater than what we have experienced in the past. God is always about the business of moving us forward even when it appears we are retreating. We look forward in faith knowing that His purpose will be fulfilled in our lives using our SHAPE to expand His kingdom here in Southern California. Here is a nice brochure for you to see that will give you even more exciting information about me.