My Story

My story starts in Phoenix, AZ on April 12, 1983 at John C. Lincoln Hospital….but let’s skip forward.

I was homeschooled 1st-12th grade (no snickering…I’m normal) and left for Asbury Cllege in Wilmore, KY for my undergraduate work.  Asbury is a small liberal arts college in a town of around 5,000 south of Lexington, KY.  I graduated in May, 2005 with a B.A. in Bible/Theology.  During my final semester at Asbury, I began dating Caitlin, a young woman from the east coast who had graduated from Asbury in 2004 and was working as a pregnancy counselor at the Lexington Crisis Pregnancy Center.

After graduation, I came home to Phoenix and began taking classes to receive my Real Estate license.  My Dad, Steve, has been a realtor in AZ since the year I was born, so I planned to work with him and save enough to attend Phoenix Seminary.  In September of 2006, I proposed to Caitlin Davis at Chevelon Lake and she said YES!

ABout 40 secs before the question...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

She realizes now what's going on...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Did you even see the ring I'm holding?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After three frustrating years in real estate, I was approached by a local church about a position in their student ministries.  After prayer and consideration, I felt like it was not what God had for us.

A few months later my Dad was on the phone with Kent DelHousaye talking real estate.  I have know the DelHousaye’s most of my life and Kent and I share common cousins, so when Kent asked to speak to me, I thought little of it.  He let me know, however, that he was now pastoring Northwest Community Church and they were in need of a Student Ministries Pastor…and he was curious if I was interested!  After thanking him, I declined and let him know that I had other plans, assuming that if God had said no to the other church opportunity, this one wasn’t for me either.

A couple of weeks following that conversation, Caitlin and I found ourselves free from our usual youth and worship responsibilities at Desert View Bible Church, where we were attending.  We decided to attend NCC with my sister, Erin, and her husband, Chad, who had begun to attend Northwest.  After the sermon, I went forward to say hello to Kent and he asked me, “When are you going to come talk to me about this Studnt Ministries Pastor position”?  Politely, I shrugged it off and thanked him for the offer, but went on my merry way.

That same week, Dad and I sat in a west valley Starbucks organizing our calendars for the week.  As I paged through my notebook, I came across the notes from Kent’s sermon the previous Sunday.  As we sat there, the door opened and Kent walked through the door of the Starbucks.  After hellos, Kent asked (again…persistent, isn’t he?) when I was going to come and talk with him about the position.  Again, I politely refused and went on my way…but this time something happened…

After this Starbucks encounter, I could not get this conversation out of my mind.  After speaking to Caitlin and my Dad about it, I decided that I needed to at least find out if Kent was being serious about the opportunity.  I called Kent and told he I needed to speak to him, so he invited me to come to the Desert Ridge Starbucks, where he was preparing his sermon.

As I spoke to him, I was nearly in tears because of the excitement that God had placed in me about the position.  Kent assured me that he was very serious and felt that God had put me in his mind for a purpose.  To make a long story slightly less long, the doors opened at every turn as we met the elders and their wives and were encouraged throughout the entire process.  I began on March 1st, 2008 as the Student Ministries Pastor, overseeing Junior High, High School, and College.

Since then, Caitlin and I have been continually blessed by the leadership and family here at NCC.  There have been difficult situations, but God has always been faithful, and we are so happy to be a part of the family at NCC!  We love you all!

On the edge of the Mogollon Rim

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Happy Winter Couple!