My story:
I was born and raised the first 9 years of my life in Alberta, Canada. I was raised in a Mennonite
Christian home and accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior at a very early age. I have always
loved the wilderness, and enjoy camping with my family, hiking, hunting, and fishing to name a
few hobbies. In 1996, my parents moved to Montana to come on staff with YWAM (Youth with
a Mission). As a boy, they took me and my bothers with them on missions’ trips to Ukraine. By
13, the Lord had already called me into ministry, and I went on a mission’s trip to Thailand
without my parents. I began my training by doing a Discipleship Training School in 2006 through
YWAM in Australia. It was during that time that the Lord sparked a passion in me for his Word
and began exposing the gift of teaching in me. I came back to Montana to do the School of
Biblical Studies through YWAM in 2007 and found myself back in 2009 to join their staff. It was
there that I met my wife, Erin, who is also a gifted Bible teacher. We have a beautiful daughter,
Elsa, who never ceases to bring us joy. In 2017, we moved to Massachusetts so that I could
attend Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. It was during this time that we also began
attending TCC. After getting my degree, Erin and I packed our bags and went to serve in Youth
with a Mission in Kyiv, Ukraine training missionaries in God’s Word. We were there two and a
half years before the Russian invasion. Now we are back at TCC where, by the grace of God, I
serve as the Family Ministries and Outreach Pastor.
My journey to TCC:
We were encouraged to come to TCC by Tom and Donna Petter, good friends who had helped
to make it possible for YWAM staff of the School of Biblical Studies to come and get their
degree through Gordon-Conwell. Tom was serving as the interim senior pastor at that time.
We loved the church, with orthodox, Bible focused sermons, beautiful worship, and a great fit
for our daughter Elsa. We became members and Erin served part time in children’s ministries.
As our time at the seminary closed, we pursued the missions board to support us as their
missionaries to Ukraine. After the invasion, we were not sure what we were supposed to be
doing, but we knew we were to continue serving the Lord in the transition. Tom Petter reached
out to offer me the position of family ministries and outreach pastor. After much prayer and
council from our parents and respected mentors, we gladly accepted the offer to start our next
chapter of life and ministry at TCC!
A meaningful verse to me:
Exodus 34:6-7 - The LORD passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD, a God
merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping
steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no
means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s
children, to the third and the fourth generation.
Isaiah 53:4-6 – Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him
stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was
crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his
wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned – everyone – to his
own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
