Can you tell us about your background and how God called you to ministry?

I grew up in church. As a student, my family went to Sperry, First. That church and those people were foundational in leading me to the Lord. I accepted Jesus as my Savior during a Spring Break retreat at Falls Creek when I was 13. I spent the next several years helping my youth group however I could. It wasn’t until the summer after I graduated high school, at Falls Creek, that I surrendered to the ministry. That led me to Oklahoma Baptist University (OBU), where I began the pursuit of vocational ministry.

Please tell us about your family.

I have a wonderful wife, Jinger. We met our freshman year at OBU. We just recently celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary. She has her PhD and is an assistant professor of professional practice at Oklahoma State University where she is doing great things for the university—but more importantly having a major impact for the Gospel with those around her! We have three amazing children Kolt, Krew and Lakely. They are all involved in several programs and sports at the school. They each have unique personalities, and I love watching each of them grow into the life and role that the Lord has given them. I am blessed with the family the Lord has graciously given me.

Perkins, Immanuel is seeing the Lord really move. Can you talk about some of the ways the Lord has been working through your church and community?

God is doing some really big things in Perkins. Over the last couple of years, Perkins continues to grow and more people are moving here almost every day it seems. As such, the Lord really began to lay on our hearts that the mission is not what we do in the building its equipping people to go out and live a Matthew 28:16-20 lifestyle.

We have begun to really focus on teaching and discipling our people to be the hands and feet of Jesus in our community in everyday life—how to talk to people at ball practice, sitting with someone at the diner, sending the text of encouragement, inviting someone to church, etc. While at the same time making sure our Sunday and Wednesday programming is helping people in this mission. We have tried to teach people how to grow deep so they can grow out.

We are seeing the fruits of this come to pass. We are in the middle of a building campaign right now, as we have maxed out our classroom and sanctuary space. We have seen more than 30 baptisms in the last 12 months, and our church has over doubled in size. This is certainly not because of any person, program, or anything that we as people can do. But I do believe God is using his people for a great work. Our people are everyday people, who are passionate about Jesus, and want those around them to know their Savior. We are excited for 2026 as we train up more people to “Go and Make.”

Who has influenced or mentored you in ministry?

I have been blessed with several great people in my life who have influenced me and mentored me. First and foremost, my parents have had the greatest impact on my life. From the time I was very young they taught me not just with their words but with their actions what it looks like to love and follow Jesus. They are to this day very involved in their church and continue to set a great example on loving and serving Jesus. I have also been fortunate to have some great mentors. Men like Scott Pace, Alan Bandy, Todd Fisher, Joe Ligon, Andy Taylor and the late Walker Moore, have been men I have leaned on for wisdom and advice both personally and professionally.

What are some of the aspects of Oklahoma Baptists’ shared ministry and community that have blessed your ministry?

We have several people who have been able to serve all over the country through the Disaster Relief teams. I have personally benefited from free commentaries, training, resources and more all of which have helped me in the ministry. Our women’s ministry team runs the registration for the Women’s Retreat every year and have such a good time doing it. Oklahoma Baptists is a special organization, and the people there really care for the local church.

Your church is a leader in missions and giving. Why is it important for churches to give through the Cooperative Program?

Immanuel, First is passionate about missions. We currently give 11.5% through the Cooperative Program (CP) as well as an additional 4% to associational and special offerings. I know many churches give similarly or probably even more! I say that to say, we give because we know the impact the CP makes. By ourselves our giving impact would be smaller in scope, but when our giving is paired with 50,000+ Southern Baptist Convention churches, the impact is truly on a global scale. We want to be a part of that movement. We desire to be a church that lives out Acts 1:8 and giving through the CP is one way that we do that. We are much better together then we would be on our own and the CP, in many ways, is the driving force behind it all. I would encourage every church to see the impact the Cooperative Program (CP) makes and to prayerfully consider how the Lord is leading them to get involved.