My Story

I was raised in a Christian home with parents who trained us to love and serve God. The culture of the church I grew up in helped shape my understanding of God for sure, but it did lean a bit legalistic; with a strong emphasis on the rules of holiness in which a grace filled relationship was a bit underemphasized.  I struggled in my personal connection with God. I wondered if He approved of me.  I tried super hard to please him but was mostly convinced of two things; I wasn't doing it right, and He was mad at me.

Things started changing dramatically when I was 16. I joined a mission team for a week-long trip to Trujillo, Honduras. At a prayer time during this trip God met me personally in a way I had never known. I can't explain exactly how, but during this specific afternoon prayer God showed me that He wanted me to work for him in the local church and pursue a lifetime of professional ministry. My prayer back to Him was simple..."I hear you, and I'll do it." 

I began to serve my youth ministry every way I could. I lead worship with my guitar, I taught bible studies, I joined the puppet team that taught kids biblical truths, I did my best to bring the love of Jesus into my public school and invite people. My life started feeling like it had a larger purpose, and I loved it.

During college, I began working as a youth minister in local churches. In 1992, I graduated with a Bachelor's degree in pastoral ministry with an emphasis in biblical languages and social recreation from Oklahoma Baptist University. Right after graduation I married my high school love and best friend, Tonia. Continuing to serve the local church part time, I enrolled in SWBTS to pursue a Masters of Divinity at SWBTS with an emphasis on biblical languages and pastoring.  I graduated with that degree in 1997. Between 1989 and 2003 I worked in several churches as both youth and worship pastor.  Also during this time my wife and I had two kids, Annah Jane (1997) and Cade (1999).

Throughout all this time I was struggling a bit with my true purpose as a leader in the church. I felt like God wanted me to do something different than serving in churches that already existed. I began to dream of starting a church, but to be honest, that dream scared me so badly. I had never been a lead pastor. But God wouldn't stop bringing this to the front of my mind. I decided to follow this calling I knew God had on my life. God introduced me to a close brother who shared this dream and had the financial means to support the endeavor for the first two years. We prayed and prayed and followed His leadership to assemble a team of like minded and spirited pastors. We all moved our lives to Houston in September 2003 to launch a church that would be called The Waters Church.

This non denominational church had a very specific task; to lead people in the biblical truth of a grace filled relationship with God, and a personal pursuit authentic Christianity with nothing artificial or unbiblical added. As our mission statement says, we are "Real people walking together toward a closer relationship with Jesus Christ."

The one life The Waters  has changed the most is mine.  God began to heal me of my spiritual insecurity and of my worry that He didn't approve of me.  He replaced that fear with the confidence of knowing my true identity as a Christian; I am a citizen and family member of the Kingdom of God.  I don't have to worry about whether or not He likes me. I'm not scared that He is mad at me.  I know His love for me is beyond any force in the universe, and that deep knowledge has made all the difference.  And the people within The Waters Church…wow!  This is a family of some of the most genuine and humble people I've ever known. At The Waters we like to say you don't have to pretend to be better than you really are, you don't have to hide your tattoos, and we definitely don't put our pastors on pedestals. We're a family, and we're for one another. 

In 2016, my wife and I followed God’s calling to adopt a little girl from China. Then again the next year we adopted a boy her same age.  During the time we should have been empty nesters, we started all over as parents of littles.  Challenging? Yep. One of the best decisions we've ever made? YEP. The way our church has supported and prayed for us during this amazing adventure has just been such a deep blessing.

My Why

I live my life for one purpose; to actively and personally love and lead people closer to Jesus; to be saved by Him and enjoy a real relationship with Him. I love spreading the biblical truth of redemption, salvation, grace and holiness. My passion is to creatively communicate God’s truth to people in a way that they can grasp and remember. Watching His truth take over a person’s heart and set them free is why I do what I do. God’s love is so extreme. It knows no limits.  He will never stop pursuing people’s hearts. He pursued mine hardcore when I was 16 and He has not let up.

The Waters Church joins Jesus in this pursuit of people for His glory and their freedom. We do this by gathering for worship, growing in God's truth, and going out to serve people in Jesus's name. And we're having a blast together :) ! I hope you'll join us!