About Me

I was born in Japan to missionary parents in 1954. We moved back to the United States when I was almost 6 years old. My father went to work at Pepperdine College, and co-pastored a church in Los Angeles. I went to school in Inglewood, California during a time of social upheaval, and it was there at a very young age that I was exposed to, and caught up in alcohol and drugs.

When I was 15 years old I gave my life to Christ in a parking lot after an evangelistic meeting at the Anaheim Convention Center. Despite the fact of giving my life to Christ, with no real guidance spiritually, I soon found myself back in the music and party scene. When I married my beautiful wife Terry, and was an expectant father, I began to really evaluate my life. Terry was showing interest in the Lord, but I was so turned off by church as I knew it, that I was not interested in attending church anywhere. When she received Christ as her Lord and Savior it had a tremendous effect on me. I agreed to let a Bible study take place in our home to help others around us. I became very interested in what was being taught, and soon we began to go to church as a young family. By the time we had three children, we had been involved at our church in Grants Pass for eight years, and I was serving in multiple areas within the church. Still, something was missing that I couldn’t put my finger on. I knew Jesus, but wasn’t growing, wasn’t sharing my faith and witnessing.

In 1992 we started attending Applegate Christian Fellowship. God was doing a powerful work there through pastor Jon Courson, and we began to grow and learn, and experience the “abundant life” that Christ spoke of in John 10 that was missing from our lives before. It came through the verse by verse, Holy Spirit empowered, teaching of God’s word. For many years God had been calling me into ministry, yet I had no idea what that would look like. I spoke to pastor Jon about the desire in my heart, and he thought I should go out and start a church. So, in 1997, with fervent prayer and faith, we moved to the southern Oregon coastal town of Bandon. It was there that we started Bandon Christian Fellowship with ten people.

As time went by, we witnessed the Lord’s hand working in amazing ways, bringing more and more people. Additionally, we operate Kaffe 101, an outreach coffee shop in downtown Coos Bay that also houses the Word of Life Christian Bookstore.

My desire above all is to see Jesus Christ magnified and known in this world. That lives would be affected by His gospel and word. That His church would bear witness to His awesome power, great mercy, and grace. God bless you as you follow Christ!