I grew up in an "unchurched" home in Joliet, IL and knew very little about God, Jesus, or Christianity. However, the Lord saved me back in 1996 while a senior in college, when a friend in my dormitory shared the gospel with me. I met Kathy shortly thereafter, married her in 1999, and we have five wonderful children. Our two youngest — Charlotte & Luke — are adopted from China and through genetic testing we’ve learned they are full biological siblings.

I began "formal" ministry back in 1998 as a Volunteer Chaplain at the Castaic Correctional Facility in Castaic, California. I was privileged to serve as a religious volunteer in many jails around California, finishing prison ministry in 2011 at the North Jail in Fresno, California. I also served as Secretary of the Board for The Prodigal’s House, a 501(c)(3) ministry which helped released inmates transition back into society and get involved in a local church.

I began my ministry here at Trinity Baptist Church on July 23, 2023. Over the years I've served as pastor at Valley View Baptist Church (Nashville, TN), Campus Bible Church (Fresno, CA), Faith Baptist Church (Strathmore, CA), and Madera Baptist Church (Madera, CA).

I graduated from Carthage College (Kenosha, WI) with a B.A. in Psychology. Shortly thereafter, I moved away from the frozen tundra of Wisconsin to the sunny beaches of Los Angeles, California in order to attend seminary at The Master’s Seminary. I’m a published author, believe the Green Bay Packers are the greatest team to ever play football, am an expert Chinese food eater, and I prefer vanilla-flavored iced coffee over hot coffee—seven days of the week.

Favorite Bible verse:
"For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and love and self-control."
(2 Timothy 1:7)