I was born and raised in a Christian home in Michigan. I put my faith in Jesus as my personal savior when I was just 7 years old. It was during a week of evangelistic meetings in my hometown that I went forward to trust Christ. To this day I can remember a counselor showing me John 3:16 and praying the sinner’s prayer.
During high school I taught Bible clubs for kids with Child Evangelism Fellowship (CEF). After high school I attended Word of Life Bible Institute, a one year Bible school in upstate New York. One of the teachers at Word of Life was a missionary to the Jewish people. As he spoke on Messianic prophecy and the “how-to’s” of witnessing to Jewish people, I was absolutely fascinated. It was then I realized the Lord was calling me into the ministry of reaching Jewish people for Jesus.
From Bible school I went on to get my B.A. in Bible at Tennessee Temple University. I minored in Jewish studies and got involved in the Jewish ministry they had in Chattanooga, TN. In doing so, the Lord confirmed his calling on my life as I really enjoyed witnessing to the Jewish people even though it is a slow difficult ministry. Latter, I attended Grand Rapids Baptist Seminary where I earned a Master of Theological Studies.
From 1983-1986 I served on the staff of a small Christian College in Israel while living and working on a kibbutz, which is an Israeli farm. I studied modern Hebrew, taught Bible studies, and lead students on tours of Israel. While living on the kibbutz I was able to share my faith with the Israelis and developed friendships that have continued even to this day over 30 years latter.
After returning home from Israel, I served as a missionary on the staff of the Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry for 25 years (1990-2015). It was while I was with FOI in St. Louis that I first met Marty Zide, Leroy Goodman, and the Midwest Messianic Center. We had a good ministry relationship for the 6 years that I was in St. Louis (1990-96) and saw Jewish people come to faith in Jesus the Messiah. We continued to keep in touch after I was moved by FOI to work out of their office in Chicago.
Then, in early 2015 Marty informed me that Leroy was retiring. Sensing a need and the Lord’s calling to work with Marty, I resigned in good standing with FOI (April 2015) to begin a new ministry with the Midwest Messianic Center starting May 1, 2015. The main focus of my ministry with MMC will be the same as it has been since the Lord called me into ministry while at Word of Life Bible Institute in 1978; reaching Jewish people with the good news that Jesus (Yeshua), is the Jewish Messiah.
My wife Lea and I (married 1988), have 6 children, 5 girls and a boy. We live just North of Chicago, which has a Jewish population of around ¼ million, making it a major player in the global Jewish community. It has been thrilling to see Jewish people come to faith in Jesus through my ministry in Chicago over the years.
Another part of my ministry is teaching in churches on Israel related topics, such as;
* Jesus in Passover.
* Jesus in the Feasts of Israel.
* Seminar on Jewish evangelism.
* Close to Construction: the movement in Israel to rebuild the Temple.
* Israel, Iran, & Atomic Bombs: Israel’s coming war with Iran.
* Jews & people in the pews: God’s plan for Israel and the Church.
* and more.
If your church would be interested in having me in for these special meetings, please contact the MMC headquarters in St. Louis, MO.
Midwest Messianic Center 