About Grace

I am the lead pastor and primary teaching elder of Grace Bible Church. I have been married to my wonderful wife Heidi since 1997, and we have three beautiful children together, Elizabeth, Rachel, and Benjamin. I served in various student ministries beginning in 1996, and graduated from The Master’s Seminary in 2003 with a Masters of Divinity. I am currently working on a Doctorate of Ministry at Western Seminary in Portland. Previous to planting Grace Bible Church of Bend, I was the Student Ministry Pastor at Independent Bible Church in Port Angeles from June of 2003 - June of 2011. The desire of my heart is to glorify God by using my life and gifts to help people follow the Lord Jesus Christ. I am committed to preaching the eternal truths of God’s Holy Word and calling people to live as the body of Christ in community with one another.

I spent most of my childhood growing up in Papua New Guinea as a missionary kid. Seeing the gospel go forth and witnessing churches being planted in remote tribal regions had a profound and lasting impact on my life. At an early age, I repented of my sin and placed my faith in Jesus. After graduating high school, I moved back to the U.S. and pursued a B.A. in Music Ministry from Simpson University. During my time at college I met my best friend Cassidy, who would later become my wife. Upon graduating, I moved to Portland, Oregon, where Cassidy and I got married, worked, and joined a healthy church where we grew further in our faith and served. In 2012, we moved to Bend for me to join the staff here at Grace Bible. We consider it a blessing to be part of this local church and to witness God’s transforming work in people’s lives. We have two daughters, Clara and Audrey. In my spare time I enjoy snowboarding, fly fishing, and hiking.

I was 17 years old when I attended church for the first time, and soon got plugged into a college group. I started growing as a Christian after hearing the gospel and giving my life to Jesus Christ. It was during this time that I met my wife Amy. We began to grow in the Lord together and were married in the summer of 1992. God blessed us with three wonderful, now adult children. I have worked in sales management and business development for a title company for over twenty years. We moved to Bend and began attending Grace Bible in early 2016, and this church has been a huge blessing in our lives. I love that GBC is gospel-centered and completely devoted to the Lord and His Word. I've been privileged to serve at the welcome desk, on the offering team, as a co-community group leader, and lead short-term missions teams in addition to my role as an elder. In my spare time I enjoy fly fishing, time outdoors, and spending time with my family.

I am blessed to be the husband of one wife, Lisa, since 1984 and father to three adult children, Julie, Amy, and Jason. Both Lisa and I, as well as our children, were saved in our childhood. The Lord has consistently been gracious as he has led us and kept us. As I mature in faith, I can say along with Paul, “I am chief among sinners,” as I realize my utter dependency on my mighty Savior. We have been a part of Grace Bible since Easter 2013, when Crossroads Community Church joined with Grace. I served as a bi-vocational pastor/elder at Crossroads for four years, and prior to that was part of pastoral preaching teams for seven years. Lisa and I have been involved in church ministry and leadership from the early years of our marriage, serving and teaching in children’s classes, home fellowship groups, and as community group leaders. We are so thankful to be part of the body at Grace Bible.