I was born and raised in Williamston, Michigan. Due to the influence (indoctrination?) of my family, I bleed green—John Deere green and Spartan green. While I did not grow up in a very observantly religious family my mother did instill the importance of prayer by praying with my brother and I every night when we were young. It was through the ministry of Young Life that I came to know Jesus as my Lord and Savior and my faith was nurtured through a Presbyterian college ministry and an Assembly of God college ministry. Needless to say, becoming a pastor was never a thought that occurred to me as a possibility. But after getting married and working as a Park Ranger at Cape Disappointment State Park in Ilwaco, Washington, I began to sense a call to ministry. My pastor at the time and the congregation we were members of affirmed the call, my wife, Kortney, was a little more reticent (it is a great story, so ask me about it sometime). She reluctantly agreed and in the ten years since I have been ordained, we have both come to see that God has called me to the pastorate. Our family is glad to be back home after spending the last 18 years living outside of the mitten. I look forward to meeting you, hearing your story and the ways God has been at work in your life, and helping each other grow in our faith together.