I was born and raised in Pauls Valley, Oklahoma
where my family and I attended Trinity Baptist
Church. I can remember my Aunt Dorthy teaching my kindergarten Sunday School class and sharing Bible stories on the flannelgraph board. When I was 13 years old I
remember having many questions about
faith and who Jesus is. On a fall
afternoon in 1987, with the help of our pastor,
Joe Masterson, I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. I soon followed
in believer’s baptism and began my relationship with Christ.
When
I was 16 years old, I attended the Summit youth camp in Talihina, Oklahoma. That week, Christ began impressing on my heart
the call to serve Him in
ministry. Although I shared that call
with my church, I really didn’t know where to
turn. It wasn’t until youth camp at Falls Creek, in
1996, that God revived that call in my heart and
made it specific with a call to student ministry. I was eager to begin serving and soon after I was called to my first church.
After
several years in youth ministry, in 2008, God began to redefine His call upon my life. It was during one
of my morning quiet times with the Lord
that I felt the Holy Spirit’s prompting on me. The Father’s call was clear to me: it was His desire to use me in pastoral
ministry. Having had the Lord redefine His purpose for me in ministry, I began
to pray and ask Him to prepare me
for this incredible task.
During
my 20+ years in ministry, God has blessed me by
allowing me to be a part
of seeing the lives of many children, students, and adults transformed by the power of the Gospel. The Lord has also used those experiences I’ve
gained to prepare
me for every challenge that I have faced. This is a very exciting time in my life, but it
is also very humbling. To know that Christ would choose to use me challenges me
to lean more heavily upon Him. I stand in awe of the God who loved me and chose
me to be a small part of His
magnificent plan!
