I grew up in the small town of Perth, Ontario. When I was 15, we moved to the city of Ottawa. At our new church, the pastor taught me Bible truth using the Heidelberg Catechism, and the Lord opened my heart to accept the good news…

… that I am not my own, but belong – body and soul, in life and in death – to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ. He has fully paid for all my sins with his precious blood, and has set me free from the tyranny of the devil. He also watches over me in such a way that not a hair can fall from my head without the will of my Father in heaven: in fact, all things must work together for my salvation. Because I belong to him, Christ, by his Holy Spirit, assures me of eternal life and makes me whole-heartedly willing and ready from now on to live for him.

Friends I met working at Gracefield Presbyterian Camp and at St. Paul’s Presbyterian Church youth group encouraged me in my walk with Christ as a young believer. After high school, I earned money as a waiter and downhill ski instructor.
While studying for a Bachelor of Arts degree in History and Geography at Carleton University, I met Joanna LaSalle. The Lord knit our hearts together, and we were married in December, 1985. During the day I worked for the Canadian Government collecting taxes, but in the evening I soaked in the rich teaching of seminary courses at Ottawa Theological Hall. In time, we joined the Reformed Presbyterian Church.

In 1988, we moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to finish my Masters of Divinity degree at Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary. Summer internships with Pastors Bill Edgar in Philadelphia, Paul McCracken in Colorado Springs, and Christian Adjemian in Kingston, Ontario, gave me valuable training for ministry.

At the end of 1990, while waiting in Canada for the US work permit that would allow us to begin our first pastorate in San Diego, California, our first child, Oliver John, was born. Jeremy Patrick came along three years later. A third son, Jasper David, was born in the middle of an eight year pastorate in Columbus, Indiana (where we also acquired our mutt, Jack). In 2003, the Reformed Presbyterian Church in Syracuse, NY, asked me to become their pastor. Joanna and I grew convinced that it was God’s will to accept, and we moved here that summer. We were quickly blessed in our new home with a fourth son, Simon Christopher.

“ I will sing to the Lord, for He has been good to me” (Psalm 13:6). I thank Him for the blessings of family and church, the joy and privilege of pastoral ministry, and, above all, the mercy and eternal life He has given me in His Son.