The greatest thing that ever happened in my life is

when I accepted Jesus Christ to be my personal Savior.

My life before I accepted Christ

When I was growing up, my family lived in Williamstown, WV.  My dad had a good job working pipeline construction.  We did not go to church anywhere, but I did have an uncle that went almost every week.  I remember that we would have some pretty big parties at our house on the weekends.  My dad and the neighbors would grill out and have a drink.  Our family life was pretty typical of a construction family.  Dad worked all week and then we had fun on the weekends.

How I came to know Christ

One Saturday morning when I was four years old, my sister and I were outside playing in the front yard when a lady walked up to us and asked if she could speak to our “mommy.”  She was from a church across the river in Marietta, OH and ran a bus route to pick up children for Sunday School.  My mom had gone to church as a little girl and thought that it would be good for my sister and me to go too. 

The next morning, my mom, my sister, and I rode the bus to church together.  My mom enjoyed the service so much that she pestered my dad that whole next week to go.  He finally agreed, but said he would not ride the bus.  We all climbed into the 1970’s station wagon and went to church the next Sunday.  In the Pastor’s Sunday School class on the book of Revelation both my mom and dad decided to accept Jesus as their Savior.

About a year later, after attending Sunday School every week, my mom asked me if I knew for sure that I was going to go to heaven some day when I died.  I knew who Jesus was.  I knew that I had done bad things that the Bible calls sin.  I knew that Jesus died on the cross and rose again on Easter.  I knew that I should be punished for my sin.  Right there at the kitchen table in our house, I bowed my head and trusted Jesus to be my Savior.  I admitted that I was a sinner, and I asked God to forgive me and save me. The next Sunday morning, my dad took me to talk to one of the assistant pastors at our church.  He asked me the same questions that my mom had asked.  This time I was able to say for sure that I knew that someday I would go to heaven.

My life since I accepted Christ

My parents thought I should wait a little while before being baptized so that I would remember it better.  I followed the Lord in believer’s baptism when I was in second grade.  After that, I was sensitive to the teaching and preaching of God’s word.  When I was in fourth grade, while at a revival meeting, I felt the Lord impress upon my heart the desire to serve Him in full-time vocational service.  During high school the Lord confirmed that He had called me to preach.  I attended Pensacola Christian College as a Bible major in the fall of 1989.  After that, I had the opportunity to continue my Bible education with a master’s degree while I worked for the college.

The Lord opened the door for me to teach Bible on the high school and college levels and even pursue a seminary degree at Faith Baptist Theological Seminary in Ankeny, IA.  Though I enjoyed teaching very much, the Lord was still working in my life leading me to pastoral ministry.  He opened the door for me to serve as an associate pastor of our church while I continued teaching on the college and seminary levels and finishing my education.  In the spring of 2006, Pine Forest Estates Baptist Church called me as pastor. I was able to finish a D.Min. degree in July of 2008.

What I am learning is that God’s plan involves preparation.  Even when I don’t recognized what He is doing, when I look back, I can see His hand at work.  It has been an amazing journey to see God at work and recognize that He has a plan for my life.  My desire now is to help others see God’s hand at work in their lives.