Emmanuel Baptist Church

1. How long have you been in ministry?

I surrendered to the ministry when I was 16 years old, but my journey in ministry hasn’t exactly been a straight line. I was saved and baptized in this church when I was 15. About a year later, I felt God calling me into ministry. At the time, I thought that meant music ministry. Looking back now, I believe God was simply calling me to serve Him, and I was trying to figure out what that looked like.

I helped lead the music in church, and at 19 I began teaching the college-age Sunday School class. Then I went through a period where I got away from God. I wasn’t spiritually or mentally mature enough to handle some things that came my way. The Devil found a crack in my armor, my pride took over, and instead of turning toward God, I ran from Him.

But God wasn’t finished with me. In 2015, I returned to this church with my wife and our five-year-old daughter and rededicated my life to Christ. My wife and I began teaching the youth in 2018, and in 2019 the Lord called me to serve as a deacon. Then, in April of this year, God made it pretty plain to me that I was out of excuses. It was time to preach.

So if you ask how long I’ve been in ministry, I guess you could say I surrendered at 16. There were some years when I wasn’t faithful to that calling, but through every one of them, God remained faithful to me.

2. When did you first feel God calling you to preach?

I first surrendered to ministry when I was 16 years old, but at that age I didn’t completely understand what God was calling me to do. For years, I thought that call was toward music ministry or simply serving wherever the church needed me. I helped lead music, taught Sunday School, worked with our youth, and eventually became a deacon. Looking back, I can see that God was preparing me through every one of those things.

Then in April of this year, the Lord took away every excuse I had left. I had spent years telling God why I wasn’t the man for the job. I wasn’t educated enough. I wasn’t qualified enough. I had made too many mistakes. Surely there was somebody better suited for it.

He wasn’t asking me whether I thought I was qualified. He was asking whether I was willing to obey.

I finally got to the point where I couldn’t run from it or explain it away anymore. So I surrendered to preach.

3. Tell us a little about your salvation testimony.

My story with this church actually started because of a girl. In the year 2000, when I was 15 years old, I was dating a girl who invited me to church. I came with her, but the Lord had a whole lot bigger purpose for getting me through those doors than I realized at the time. It was here that I heard the Gospel, realized that I needed Jesus Christ, gave my life to Him, and was baptized.

A year later, at 16, I surrendered to ministry and began serving the Lord. I wish I could tell you that from that day forward I always walked exactly where God wanted me to walk, but that wouldn’t be much of a testimony because it wouldn’t be true. As a young man, I wasn’t as spiritually or mentally mature as I thought I was. Pride got ahold of me, the Devil found a crack in my armor, and eventually I ran from God.

I may have wandered, but God never changed.

God eventually put a man in my life who helped guide me back toward Him. In 2015, I came back home to this church with a wife and a five-year-old daughter. I rededicated my life to Christ, and God began rebuilding what I had allowed to fall apart.

Then, this past March, my wife and my oldest daughter were saved, and I had the privilege of baptizing both of them. In 2000, a 15-year-old boy walked into this church because a girl invited him. Years later, that same boy—now a husband, father, deacon, and preacher—stood in the baptismal waters of that church and baptized his own wife and daughter. I couldn’t have written that story if I tried. Only God could.

4. How did God lead you to our church?

Through a teenage girl! I was 15 years old in 2000 and dating a girl who invited me to church. I came because she asked me, but God had another reason for bringing me here. I was saved here, baptized here, surrendered to ministry here, served here when I was young, and eventually came home here in 2015.

Since then, God has allowed my wife and me to teach our young people, allowed me to serve as a deacon, called me to preach His Word, and even allowed me to baptize my own wife and daughter here. You never know what God might do when you simply invite somebody to come with you.

5. How long have you served in your current role here?

I surrendered to preach in April of this year, so I’m still pretty new to this particular role. But I’m certainly not new to serving this church. Over the years, I’ve served in music, taught Sunday School, worked with our youth alongside my wife, and served as a deacon. Preaching is the newest chapter, but God has been preparing me for it through every place He’s allowed me to serve.

6. What do you love most about being a pastor?

I love watching the Word of God come alive for somebody. I love digging into Scripture, studying what it means, understanding why it was written, and helping people see how it applies today. The Bible is the living Word of God, and it still speaks directly to our lives. Above everything else, seeing somebody come to know Jesus Christ—that’s what it’s all about.

7. What part of ministry are you most passionate about?

Teaching and preaching the Word of God. I want people to understand Scripture, know what they believe and why they believe it, and know where they can find it in the Bible. I want us to be a Bible-believing church full of people who genuinely know Jesus, follow Him, and aren’t ashamed to tell somebody else about Him.

8. What is your favorite Bible verse, and why?

Romans 8:28:

“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”

That verse means a lot to me because I’ve seen it play out in my own life. I’ve watched God take the hard parts, mistakes, failures, and years I spent running and use them to shape me into the man and minister He wanted me to become. Romans 8:28 doesn’t tell me everything that happens will be good. It tells me that God is able to work through all of it for good and according to His purpose.

9. Who has had the greatest influence on your walk with Christ?

I’d have to say Melinda Dobson, who was my youth leader when I was a kid. She helped lay a spiritual foundation in my life at an important time—teaching me, encouraging me, and showing me what it looked like to faithfully serve the Lord. I’m thankful for everyone God has used throughout the different seasons of my life, but Melinda is the person who comes to mind first.

10. What is one lesson God has taught you through ministry?

God doesn’t need my ability nearly as much as He wants my availability. God already knows my weaknesses. He knew every mistake I would make before He ever called me. The question isn’t whether I’m good enough. The question is whether I’ll surrender what I have to Him and let Him use it. Anything good that comes from my ministry isn’t because of me. It’s Him. I’m just trying to be available when He says, “Go.”

11. What is your greatest prayer for our church?

That we would be a church completely surrendered to Jesus Christ. I want to see people saved, families restored, children grow up knowing Jesus, Christians grow deeper in the Word, and people who have wandered away from God know that there is still a road home. My prayer is that when people look at our church, they don’t see us. They see Christ.

12. What would you like to see God accomplish in our church and community?

I want our church to truly be a light on the hill. I want our community to know there is a church here that believes the Bible, loves people, preaches Jesus Christ, and isn’t ashamed of the Gospel. I want us reaching every generation, including people who have never known Christ and people who have gotten away from Him. I want us asking, “How do we take Jesus outside these walls?”

13. What advice would you give someone who is struggling in their relationship with God?

Come home.

Don’t wait until you think you’ve cleaned yourself up enough. Start talking to God again. Open your Bible again. Get back in church. Surround yourself with people who will point you toward Jesus. You may have moved away from God. God hasn’t moved. Turn around and come home.

14. What is your favorite Bible story or Bible character?

I’d probably have to say Samson. He was strong physically, but he had weaknesses spiritually. He let pride, temptation, and his own decisions get him into trouble. But his failure wasn’t the end of his story. Samson reminds me that being called by God doesn’t mean you’re incapable of falling. It means you better stay close to the One who called you. Even after failure, God can still use a surrendered man.

15. What is your favorite hymn or Christian song?

“Farther Along,” especially Dolly Parton’s version. Its message gets more meaningful the more life you live. Sometimes we don’t understand the heartaches, disappointments, and losses we face, and sometimes we don’t get the answer here. Until then, my job is to trust God and keep going.

16. What do you enjoy doing when you’re not at church?

I work a lot, enjoy spending time with our youth group, and like watching them grow. I also enjoy reading and studying my Bible and listening to other preachers. I’ve started working out and exercising because I’m trying to get healthier, although I’d be lying if I said I enjoy it! And if there’s any time left, I’ll play some video games.

17. What’s something fun that most people at church might not know about you?

I collect video games. I don’t get nearly as much time to play them as I used to, but I enjoy collecting them—especially the older ones.

18. If you could leave our church family with one message from your heart, what would it be?

Don’t waste the time God has given you.

If He’s calling you—answer. If you’ve gotten away from Him—come home. If there’s somebody you need to forgive—forgive them. If somebody needs to hear about Jesus—tell them. Stay close to Jesus. Stay in His Word. Love one another. Forgive one another. Serve while you have the opportunity. Tell people about Jesus while you have the opportunity. We aren’t here just to have church. We’re here to be the Church. We’re here to make Christ known.