I grew up in the small town of Ford City, Pennsylvania. My dad worked in a local factory, and my mom and dad raised five children on his meager income. We attended church regularly, yet this particular church did not preach the Gospel. As a result, we grew up worldly without knowing Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.
The Holy Spirit began to stir in me in my high school years. He showed me the futility of a life of sin. The deaths of two of my close friends really caused me to think about eternal issues as a teen. Yet while at a local university, I joined a social fraternity and continued my rebellious ways.
One of my friends gave me a New Testament during those days. For the first time in my life, I began to read and meditate upon the Words of Jesus Christ. Through the Scripture, the Holy Spirit revealed God's love for me as a sinner, and I received Jesus Christ as my Savior and Lord in October of 1970. My life changed immediately from the inside out. I suddenly desired to live for God and His Word. Immediately, I began to witness to my friends and all who would listen to my testimony. After less than two years at that university, I left to begin my Bible training. Over the next several years, I attended two different Bible schools, also took several more business courses at a secular college, and worked to support my new wife, Renee. (I now also have two daughters, Jessica and Bethany, one son, Zachary, and a grandson, Bryce.)
I had received the baptism in the Holy Spirit in November of 1970 shortly after my conversion. I was also baptized in water that next summer. I attempted to work in several non-Pentecostal churches and non-denominational, charismatic, fellowship groups without much lasting fruit, so I pioneered a non-denominational, charismatic church, New Covenant Fellowship in 1978. I entered full time ministry in January 1980.
In 1987, I became a licensed minister with the Assemblies of God and merged our church with the New Life Center Assembly of God in Ford City, PA. I served as associate pastor until 1991 when I was elected the pastor after the former pastor moved on to plant a new church. I was first a licensed, and then an ordained Assemblies of God minister from 1987 until the end of 2003. I have been the pastor of seven different churches, both non-denominational and Assemblies of God, and currently serve as elder, overseer, pastor, teacher, and missionary with Frontier Harvest Ministries of Ford City, PA.
In 1984, I began to also travel overseas in short-term ministry. By December 2024, I will have taken 224 trips to 43 different nations on five different continents over a 40-year period. I have introduced over 162 different people to their first short-term mission trip during this time period.
My desire is to keep ministry simple and non-traditional, modeling the first century church (not the church of the last 1,900 years) by emphasizing worship in Spirit and Truth, the Word of God, prayer, fellowship, evangelism, and discipleship training. We must love God first but then prove our love for Him by loving others as we love ourselves. I believe the local church (God's people, not a building) is God's chosen habitation for the establishment of His Kingdom. Therefore, we must grow together in service, maturity, unity, and to our full stature in Christ through the power and the fruit of the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit began to stir in me in my high school years. He showed me the futility of a life of sin. The deaths of two of my close friends really caused me to think about eternal issues as a teen. Yet while at a local university, I joined a social fraternity and continued my rebellious ways.
One of my friends gave me a New Testament during those days. For the first time in my life, I began to read and meditate upon the Words of Jesus Christ. Through the Scripture, the Holy Spirit revealed God's love for me as a sinner, and I received Jesus Christ as my Savior and Lord in October of 1970. My life changed immediately from the inside out. I suddenly desired to live for God and His Word. Immediately, I began to witness to my friends and all who would listen to my testimony. After less than two years at that university, I left to begin my Bible training. Over the next several years, I attended two different Bible schools, also took several more business courses at a secular college, and worked to support my new wife, Renee. (I now also have two daughters, Jessica and Bethany, one son, Zachary, and a grandson, Bryce.)
I had received the baptism in the Holy Spirit in November of 1970 shortly after my conversion. I was also baptized in water that next summer. I attempted to work in several non-Pentecostal churches and non-denominational, charismatic, fellowship groups without much lasting fruit, so I pioneered a non-denominational, charismatic church, New Covenant Fellowship in 1978. I entered full time ministry in January 1980.
In 1987, I became a licensed minister with the Assemblies of God and merged our church with the New Life Center Assembly of God in Ford City, PA. I served as associate pastor until 1991 when I was elected the pastor after the former pastor moved on to plant a new church. I was first a licensed, and then an ordained Assemblies of God minister from 1987 until the end of 2003. I have been the pastor of seven different churches, both non-denominational and Assemblies of God, and currently serve as elder, overseer, pastor, teacher, and missionary with Frontier Harvest Ministries of Ford City, PA.
In 1984, I began to also travel overseas in short-term ministry. By December 2024, I will have taken 224 trips to 43 different nations on five different continents over a 40-year period. I have introduced over 162 different people to their first short-term mission trip during this time period.
My desire is to keep ministry simple and non-traditional, modeling the first century church (not the church of the last 1,900 years) by emphasizing worship in Spirit and Truth, the Word of God, prayer, fellowship, evangelism, and discipleship training. We must love God first but then prove our love for Him by loving others as we love ourselves. I believe the local church (God's people, not a building) is God's chosen habitation for the establishment of His Kingdom. Therefore, we must grow together in service, maturity, unity, and to our full stature in Christ through the power and the fruit of the Holy Spirit.