Early Years & Conversion
I was born and raised in Park Forest, a small southern suburb of Chicago, IL. My parents and older sister professed faith in Christ but expressed it through very different traditions. My father was a charismatic Pentecostal and my mother a Lutheran (Missouri Synod). I believed Christianity was merely a set of rules that authority figures used to control my behavior. So, I resolved to be good at being bad—and I was!
At a young age, I was becoming so skilled in all the wrong things that a relative warned she expected I would be dead or in jail before my 21st birthday. I was drawn to fights, substance use, vandalism, and theft— leading to run-ins with police and conversations of school expulsion — all before my 14th birthday. Functionally, I was an apprentice to a former gang leader in my neighborhood, so I wore her words as a badge of honor—until the Lord confronted me.
On one occasion, I sensed that the Lord had spared me from the consequences of my actions, so I said to my mentor, “I think God is protecting me.” He replied, “I’m protecting you.” I recoiled as the fear of the Lord washed over me. God opened my eyes, and I began to backpedal from the relationship and lifestyle. A few weeks later, I cried out to God to save me from my sins and pleaded with Him to be the Lord of my life. My conversion was marked by a complete transformation—from constant trouble with authority figures to proclaiming Christ while leading a neighborhood Bible study.
High School & College
In high school and college, God graciously stripped away false identities to ground and grow me in Him. I had built my self-worth on athletic achievement and public notoriety as a DJ, but He exposed the emptiness of those foundations and rebuilt me on the cornerstone of Christ.
During that season, I met Grace. We recognized in one another a sincere pursuit of Jesus and committed to walking in faith together. We attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where our community and faith deepened through church life, Bible studies, and my involvement in a Christian fraternity.
After graduating, we married in 2009. My first “real job” in a residential treatment and group home setting planted the early seeds of our future in foster care and adoption.
Early Adulthood & Ministry
If those earlier years were about preparing the soil, the last 15 years have been about growth—especially blooming during our time at New City Fellowship West End. In 2011, Grace and I moved to St. Louis, where we served with a church plant while attending Covenant Theological Seminary. In 2014, I began serving as Youth Director at Grace & Peace Fellowship and added a part-time role at The Freedom School after graduating from CTS in 2015. Grace and I began our journey into foster care in 2016, serving seven children and adopting four. In 2019, we helped plant New City Fellowship West End. Early on, my role was simply to do whatever needed to be done—sound tech, Sunday coordinator, children’s ministry director, youth leader, outdoor service leader, web designer, small group leader, mission and vision clarifier, preacher, residency program director, and more. Over time, however, my role began to shift toward discipling others, preparing me for what God was calling me into: leadership.
I had only known myself as a behind-the-scenes supporting pastor until our lead pastor transitioned to full-time teaching at Covenant Theological Seminary. At that point, “doing what needs to be done” came to include leading the church to free him to serve in his many other roles. God crafted that season to develop my sense of calling and gifting.
Today, I believe God has called and equipped me to serve as a priestly, shepherding leader. I treasure knowing the flock deeply and standing with the people of God in every season. I love the Spirit-led rhythm of God’s Word pointing me to love people well and loving people by pointing them back to God in His Word. I have grown to embrace my union with Christ as the source of both freedom and confidence—freedom to fail forward, and confidence that God is working all things together for good.
We know who we are because we know whose we are. We know where we’re going because of where Christ went for us. I love God’s story of redemption—and I’m eager to see how His story continues to unfold.