About Us

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As a matter of background, I was born in 1951 & made a personal commitment of my life to Christ Jesus at age seven. God made Himself very real to me at that time. There was little discipleship after that so, though I had a sense of what I had been saved from, I had little idea of what I had been redeemed for. 

After about 12 years of periods of spiritual darkness, struggle and malaise, I was impacted by God's grace and became a follower of Jesus Christ on August 28, 1970. My wife and I were both baptized in the Holy Spirit in the fall of 1970. 

Thus, I’ve been “on mission” for 50 years. I spent a decade in coffee house outreach on the University of Texas campus in Austin. I answered God’s call to serve the Church. I went to seminary and was ordained to the priesthood. I helped pastor a church for three years in Waco, Texas, followed by 10 years spent serving a renewal congregation in Darien, Connecticut. Then God led me into 25 years of cross-cultural mission work in Russia before He led me back to parochial service in Virginia. My wife, Yolie, has supported me every step of the way.

I am a pastor/teacher/encourager, deeply committed to preaching the whole counsel of God. God has manifested prophecy and gifts of healing in my ministry. I have the motivational gift of mercy. My wife, Yolie, is an exhorter. Words of knowledge and wisdom flow naturally through her. 

Together we are committed to building a real sense of community among the people of God. We lead as much by example as we do through our words, believing it is good to let the cracks show, since we hold the life of Jesus in these “jars of clay”. Light shines through them! 

The Lord has used our pastoring, teaching, exhortation, wisdom, godly counsel, life-on-life discipleship and the gifts of the Spirit to build leadership, foster strong Christian roots and teach the followers of Jesus to walk in the spiritual authority and grace He has given to His church. 

I have been a priest a long time. When I look back over my life, I can see what God has been doing even though I may not have been fully aware of it at the time. I see that Yolie and I are spiritual farmers. We prepare the soil, we dig, we plant, we weed, we water, we nurture people’s hearts. The culture I engender is relaxed, real and Christ-honoring, even when we are joking and having a good time. 

Everyone has a God-given unique sphere of influence. Our Father has given ministry to the whole Church - the same ministry that He gave Jesus. He declared, "As the Father has sent Me, I am sending you." Jesus only did what He saw the Father doing. He only said what He heard the Father saying. When we do that, we are: Obedient to God’s Word; seeking intimacy with its Author; learning to trust and fully surrender to Him; declaring that God can do great things; and seeing the Holy Spirit do those things through us. We are transformed! The world truly can be changed one heart at a time. And each of us has a part to play.

I believe that the whole Bible is the revealed Word of God inspired by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will never speak a word in any shape or form that contradicts the Holy Scriptures, no matter how spiritual and holy the messenger sounds. The Bible speaks to every generation, every time, and every people group. It is not to be edited, re-imagined or reinterpreted through the eyes of culture. We are to reverence and obey God’s word because we know that it will never steer us wrong. It is the only true north moral compass in existence. Most importantly, it is the only way to learn about the nature and character of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is faithful to open up the Bible to us in order to lead us into all truth. 

I believe the importance of the Holy Spirit cannot be understated. We must remember what Jesus said, “As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.” How did the Father send Jesus? Jesus was conceived by the Spirit, therefore we too, must be born of the Spirit. At His baptism in the Jordan River the Father sent the Holy Spirit to anoint Jesus for ministry. In the same way the Father has sent the Holy Spirit to anoint us for ministry. “We are to be clothed with power from on high.” If the Father saw fit to send the Spirit it is because we need Him. We need every gift He has to offer. Apart from the Holy Spirit we are powerless. It would be like plugging an appliance into a dead wall socket. 

When God’s Word is wed to real intimacy with its Author; when we declare that God can do great things and then cooperate with Him in the Holy Spirit as He does those things through us; when we intentionally look like Jesus by living like Jesus, the world can be changed - one heart at a time. 

Our mission is to close the gap between Biblical knowledge and Spirit-filled intimacy with God; to see that the clear proclamation of the Gospel is joined to the manifested power of the Holy Spirit; to live committed to love like Jesus Christ and to build the intentional community He has called to as His church that the world might see Him

Here’s what we know: God needs more than converts. He needs true disciples. We believe this is best accomplished through life-on-life discipleship energized and enabled by the limitless power of the Holy Spirit.  This is our call. We believe relational discipleship is vital to building strong followers of Jesus Christ.   

The Body of Christ is facing more and more challenges from the forces of evil. “Christian” has come to mean different things to different people even within the church. Sadly, we are fast becoming the enemies of culture.  Many in the Church need an extra boost in learning how to stand and keep on standing. 

We’ve always relied on the Holy Spirit and His gifts to empower us to promote strong, Bible-centered, deeply rooted Believers. We equip His people through teaching, preaching, prayer, listening and counsel, and by God’s grace, we are open with our own struggles as we endeavor to demonstrate how to walk in the power and authority Jesus has given us. 

We are available one-on-one or in group gatherings and congregational settings.