Bio
I grew up on a small family dairy farm near the BIG city of Blackduck, Minnesota (pop. 686) with my parents and three brothers. Growing up in a Christian family, I was fortunate to learn about the love, grace and forgiveness of God at an early age. After trusting in Jesus Christ as my personal Savior and fully submitting my life to God at the age of 12, God began to instill in me a heart for ministry.
In 2000, I moved to the Chicago area to study ministry and wrestle at Wheaton College. While at Wheaton, I was also blessed to meet Michelle, whom I married after we graduated in 2004. We have a 14 year old daughter named Laraya (rhymes with “papaya”) and a 12 year old son named Javen (rhymes with “raven”) and a 9 year old girl named Layla, and a 7 year old girl named Jada.
In August of 2011, I completed my MDiv degree at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois. In December of 2011, I accepted the call to serve as Associate Pastor for Children & Youth here at Maranatha EFC. As of August 2014, I transitioned to a new role as Pastor for Youth & Family, where my sole focus is student ministry. I am excited and blessed to be a part of the great ministry team at Maranatha and to join the body of believers here in our mission of proclaiming the joy of salvation to a world in need and encouraging Christ’s followers in their devotion to Him.
Aside from playing with my children and going on dates with my lovely bride, I also love playing sports, hiking, camping, water-skiing, downhill-skiing, spelunking, harmless pranks, coaching and preaching.
THE SOUL GARAGE 
Always welcome here and thanks for the encouragement. Always felt and feel like you were a good investment. Love the name, SOUL GARAGE, by the way.
I like the Soul Garage name as well. Our previous youth pastor was the one to select the name when the church purchased a motor sports garage building next door and turned it into a ministry center for children and youth ministry.
Good to see your family and ministry growing. Come and visit SC anytime.
Thanks! You should know that I often think of you and still refer to you as “the church planting pastor that mentored me during seminary”. We had an Elders and Staff Retreat a few weeks back and I shared your disciple making pathway you had used at NewSong as an example of an intentional disciple making pathway as we are seeking to develop a more clear pathway at our church. God used you and the time we shared together significantly to shape me and my philosophy of ministry. Thanks for investing in me. Church planting is still something we talk and pray about as as possible future ministry pursuit for us. If we are ever out near SC, I will certainly look you up. Blessings!
Thanks for the encouragement. You are one of the brightest lights in my life from those years. Proud of you and filled with joy over how God is using you.