Middletown, Ohio, happens to be home for several pieces of history:  Armco Steel, George M. Verity, the Miami-Erie Canal, and least of all, me.  I discovered Middletown for myself on December 6, 1956.  More importantly, I discovered my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on December 11, 1970, and launched into the wonderful journey of walking with the Lord day by day.

 He called me into the ministry and led me to preach, teach, and serve, even beginning full-time ministry immediately following high school.  I was trained at Gulf-Coast Bible College (now Mid-America Christian University) and met my wife, Ronda, there.  We have been honored to pastor Church of God congregations in New Mexico, Oklahoma, Missouri, Texas, Louisiana, and now Illinois.

 Ronda and I have four daughters and two grandchildren.  Jonda, mother of our two grandchildren, has completed her elementary education degree at Mid-America Christian University and is married to Josh Bowers, a Church of God minister pastoring in Iowa.  Julie has also completed her Bachelors degree in Behavioral Science at MACU and her Specialist Degree in School Psychology.  Jessica completed a Culinary Arts Certificate and is currently a pursuing a Secondary English Education degree at MACU.  Joy is completing in High School.

  My passion for the Church is that we should continually be about the work of rescuing the perishing and caring for the dying.  I believe that the Church is God's people, working together in love and concern, pointing others to the Savior Who is so desperately needed.  Jesus said that the world would know we belong to Him by the love we have for each other! God wants us to love and work together to reach this world for Him.

 I have dedicated myself to helping people find their place of service within the body of Christ, helping them to have the handles and the opportunities to do what God has called them to do. The pastor is not the whole church. I feel the pastor's role is to lead the flock and feed the flock, tending to those in my care so that they might be their best for God.  We are in this together!

I was born on Spetember 17, 1960 in Carthage, Illinois and I'm the second oldest of four boys. Our family lived in Wisconsin for several years, but moved back to Illinois when I was 6 and have lived here since. I graduated in 1979 from Southeastern High School in Augusta, Illinois. From there I attended Spoon River College in Canton, Illinois on a basketball scholarship and received an Associate in Applied Science degree in 1981. I then attended Illinios State University receiving a Bachelor of Science degree in 1985. I have one daughter, Myleah (26), who lives in the Minneapolis, Minnesota area. I met my wife Colette in November of 1994 and we were married on November 23, 1996.

Colette and I started attending Pekin 1st Church of God in January of 1995 and in February of 1996 I asked Jesus Christ to be my Lord and Savior. Colette and I became involved in the nursing home ministry in the spring of 1997 and we have been richly blessed ever since.

I have worked in many different fields, from construction to commercial tire sales and management. In August of 2003, after officiating at the funeral for a friend from the bursing home, God called me into ministry. I was licensed in February of 2004 and ordained on July 21, 2006 as a minister of the Church of God. I have been on staff as Pastoral Care Pastor since February of 2004. At this time, I'm working on my Masters in Theological Studies through the Anderson School of Theology in Anderson, Indiana. It us my honor and privilege to be able to serve God and His people.

If I could describe my life with one word, it would be "blessed". We never deserve the blessings God bestows but it is because He loves us so that He chooses to bless us. I give God praise for His blessings and thank Him for being Lord of my life.

I was saved at the age of 9 and baptized at age 13 at another church. I consider it a blessing that the biblical principles taught to me at an early age were firmly engrained in my heart which kept me from the worldly mistakes so many young people make in their teens and 20's.

I began attending Pekin 1st Church of God in 1996. One of the first things I noticed about the church was how loving the people were. I re-dedicated my life to the Lord and became involved in the discipleship program. Over the years, I've been blessed to be involved in many ministries including greeters, cookie bakers, kitchen help, Sonshine Preschool Board, and Mission Outreach. In October 2002, I was blessed once more when asked to work at the church on a temporary full time basis. In January 2003, I accepted the permanent position of Office Manager.

In late 2005, I met Gary at our small group Bible study. Little did I know, God had a plan for Gary and I which turned out to be a cherished blessing. We started dating in January 2006 and became engaged in January 2007. We will be married in August 2007. I am truly grateful for God's gift of Gary in my life and praise Him for the life we are making together!!

My life has been blessed beyond measure. I thank God for His love, patience, grace and blessings!! In John 15: 16 (NIV) Jesus said, "You did not choose me, but I chose you." I praise God that He chose to love us so much that He died on Calvary for our sins and THAT is the BIGGEST blessing of my life!!