I grew up in a faith-based household through which I (mostly unwillingly) participated in church. However, it wasn’t until my teen years that I came to a personal understanding of the Gospel. While wrestling with worldly identity, God used a Christian musician to point me to the truth of sin separating me from a holy God, salvation through Christ alone, and my eternal identity in Him. I am thankful for continued growth, and grace, and for reminders that God alone is the prize and beyond worthy of any time, talent, or possession I may have to offer.

I married my high school sweetheart, Ashley, 30 years ago this June. We have five kids — Andersen (24), Reid (22), Grace (21), Griffin (19) and Brooks (15).

It is probably no surprise that my hobbies tend to involve the local/national music scene as a producer, performer, and studio musician.

We discovered Veritas in 2016 through a series of somewhat unbelievable (but for God) events. I first heard about the church through a friend's social media post. Upon doing some research, I learned that a couple of men I respect as Christ-followers were involved in leading the church. We showed up one Sunday morning at the Double Tree and started calling Veritas our church home a few weeks later. We have been blessed by being a part of this family of believers.

I am grateful for the opportunities I have been given to serve at Veritas, including most recently as an elder in training over the past year.

I’m an Iowa kid who grew up in a great home. Both my parents were public school teachers and taught my brother and I the importance of family, character, and work ethic. Around middle school my parents led our family to start attending a church that taught the Bible, and that really fostered a genuine love for God. It was through that ministry that I grew to really understand the gospel and became more excited about a life fully committed to God. Out of high School I received a scholarship to play football at Arizona State University. It was a boyhood dream, however during that time God’s call on my life to go into full time ministry became stronger than my desire to play football. After my sophomore year, I transferred to Moody Bible Institute in Chicago to pursue being a Pastor. That journey has led me to different pastoral roles in Marathon Wi, Manchester IA, Gilbert AZ, and now Cedar Rapids IA. I joined Veritas in January of 2014, and it is such a joy to be a part of this church family.   

Serving God as a pastor has been an amazing privilege. I have gotten a front row seat to God’s work in so many people’s lives. I love teaching the Bible. The gospel is the greatest news ever. I love the local church. There is nothing like a group of people united in Christ and on mission together.  

So intertwined with my ministry is my family. I married the pastor's daughter, my high school sweetheart and best friend Marcy, and she has served alongside me in so many different ways, none greater than being an amazing wife and an incredible mom to our three kids, Moses, Johnnie, and Rudy. I love hanging out with my family, all things BBQ, and time fishing and camping with good friends in the boundary waters.

My hope is to help lead a group of people that are deeply in love with God, eachother, and fully embrace the adventure of living for God’s glory, showing the world that fullness of joy is found in Jesus.

In my youth, I attended a catholic church with my parents. Religion was more about being good, than loving God. As a young adult, I thought I was a Christian because I went to church. I was in my mid-twenties when I signed up to read the entire Bible in a year. I started in Genesis and read through the Old Testament. When I got to Romans, I realized for the first time in my life, that I was a sinner, just like everyone else. I needed a redeemer, just like everyone else. I needed God’s grace, just like everyone else. I needed God.

I continued to read and learn about faith rather than just religion. A couple of years later, I was baptized. To this day, I am still learning to love God more.

One of my favorite places to visit is Pignon, Haiti — a small town located in the upper plateau region of Haiti. Over the years, I have been blessed to know many Haitian and American friends who call this town home. God has shown me much about faith through the people of this small town.

I am pleased to call the people of Veritas Church my family. By God’s grace, I have hundreds of brothers and sisters in Christ who walk by my side, seeking to serve the Lord together.

I am from Cedar Falls, Iowa, and went to the University of Iowa (molecular biology). I joined the Veritas staff team in 2022 after being on staff at another Salt Network church (Candeo) since 2015.

I grew up in a great home and was involved in church, and youth group as a child. I heard the gospel many times but God finally opened my eyes to its reality and my need for saving grace when I was in high school.

My wife (Emily) and I were high school sweethearts and now we have five kids (Madi, Eliott, Taylor, Lyla, and Ethan). We enjoy sports and the outdoors as a family, as well as trying to make normal and mundane activities fun.

I like the outdoors (hunting, fishing, camping) and making memories with my family. I enjoy spending time both in big cities (NYC, Chicago, etc) and in the middle of nowhere (the mountains, Boundary Waters, etc). I think the book that had the biggest impact on me (other than the Bible) was John Piper's Don't Waste Your Life. I read that in college and knew I wanted to live an intentional life that regularly proclaimed and displayed the gospel.

Growing up in a church-going home in a small town, in northwest Iowa, it was assumed that everybody was a "Christian." I had heard about Jesus, knew the Bible stories, and understood what sin was. This gave me the false assumption that I, too, was a Christian. Throughout my younger years, I struggled with the concepts of acceptance and belonging. I wanted to belong, therefore I ultimately tried becoming all things to all people. I wanted to be the star athlete, the straight-A student, the class clown, the life of the party, and also the beloved youngest child. Clearly, my life was a twisted mess of contradictory chaos, as I was searching for my acceptance and belonging in all the wrong places. During my junior year of college (2013) at Iowa State University, the Gospel of Christ became beautiful to me at a Wednesday night worship and prayer gathering. For the first time in my life, I had ears to hear that my acceptance and belonging were purchased by the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. It was no longer about my measuring up, but rather, about Christ's finished work on my behalf. I found great freedom in the Gospel, setting me free from the bondage of my sin and shame. Though people-pleasing is still a temptation of mine to this very day, I cling to the promise that my life is hidden with Christ in God (Col. 3:3). All praise, glory, and honor be to Him!

My beautiful wife, Ellie, and I have been married since May 2017. After spending our first two years of marriage at Candeo Church in Cedar Falls, we moved to Cedar Rapids in July 2019, after Ellie had graduated from UNI and I began my career in vocational ministry. She has been working in corporate wellness at Health Solutions, which is right next to Veritas. Our time in Cedar Rapids has been characterized by tremendous growth and great joy. In October 2021, we were blessed to adopt our two boys, Blaze and Leo, who have shown us a bigger and more beautiful picture of the gospel. What love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God!

In regards to hobbies, I love spending time with family and friends, being outdoors, watching or participating in sports, reading good books, and laughing. I also love traveling and eating good food, which are clearly connected. In the words of Jim Gaffigan, "In the end, that's what most vacations are — just you eating in a place you've never been."

I grew up in a faithful Christian household where I learned the foundations of the truth of God‘s word and was shown his grace in a way that exemplified the gospel. The Lord helped me recognize his work in my own heart during my teenage years with faithful gospel proclamation and leadership of my pastors and parents through some difficult sin issues. It was during this time that God awakened me to my own sin and my need for salvation in Christ alone. During this time I also had the privilege of meeting Karlee, the woman who would be my wife. We went to college together and we were married in 2008. Karlee is an incredible gift and has been instrumental in encouraging and challenging me in my walk with Christ. We have been blessed with eleven wonderful children over the course of our marriage and have seen the Lord’s hand every day!      

We started attending Veritas Iowa City in 2011 and it has been one of the greatest joys of my life to see God’s work in and through his church and join in community with this family of believers.

Praise God for his incredible mercy on me and my family!

I love to travel anywhere with Karlee. I enjoy golfing, singing, and reading books on theology and church life. Some personal favorites that are easy to read are A Little Book on the Christian Life by John Calvin, A Simple Way to Pray by Martin Luther, and Chosen By God by R.C Sproul.

I was fortunate to grow up in a family that loved Jesus. While my faith was immature through middle school and high school, it grew tremendously in college and really became my own as I was sharpened by close friends and spiritually mature coaches.  

My wife Arika and I met while I was in college and married in the summer of 2004. We moved to Cedar Rapids in 2008. We now have four wonderful and wild kids.

I absolutely love the Veritas family! My wife and I began coming in the Chrome Horse days. Being surrounded by people who live on mission has grown my faith. I have served as an elder since 2019, and it has been an honor and blessing to serve alongside men who treasure Christ and care for people well.

I enjoy spending time with my wife (and kids), just about anything outdoors (hunting, fishing, hiking, backpacking, camping), popcorn & family movie night, great BBQ, woodworking, Ron Swanson, reading about anything written by John Piper, and turning off all the lights in my house that the kids leave on. 

My wife Sarah and I have been married since 1996 and have been blessed with four children – Caleigh, Aidan, Devon, and Brie. I was not a Christian when we met, rather, I was the “good kid”, expecting to earn heaven on my own merit because “at least I’m not like THAT guy over there.” I lived that way until I was 27.

Though I was familiar with some Bible stories, it wasn’t until I was challenged by some Christian friends at work to read the Bible and get understanding from it (instead of other things I was reading) that I understood the depth of my sin and need, not for my own merit which was all “dirty rags”, but for the perfect and atoning merit of Jesus.

God saved my wife and me the same night during a bible study in the early months of 1999.

After years of sanctification, service, and ministry, God brought us to Veritas in January 2015 at the invitation of a friend, and we knew immediately that Veritas was where God was planting us. After a few months, we began to serve – Sarah in the newly formed children’s ministry, and I served on the welcome team. We became connection group leaders in 2016, and in 2018, I became an elder. 

I have been awestruck by how God has worked in the years we have been here and am excited to see how God equips Veritas to raise up mature disciples and send out everyday missionaries.

I was raised in rural, northern Minnesota on a farm. My family was very religious and attended church each Sunday. We homeschooled as well, so I heard a lot about Jesus but never knew Jesus. When I was eight, I prayed a prayer to be saved and fell into religiosity. I went to Providence College and Seminary in Otterburne, Manitoba, for a couple of years and dropped out to get married in 2001 because school was difficult for me. I proceeded to work in concrete construction, carpentry, and raising cattle with my dad and brother. Throughout this time I kept serving in my church’s youth group and was challenged in 2005 to join the staff and help out part-time in student ministry. I took that opportunity and after a year of serving, during a book study, God grabbed ahold of my heart. God saved me! It was quite the transition from religion to Jesus. My pursuit of Jesus continued to grow and one day while working on the farm God confirmed my calling to ministry. I attended Bethlehem College and Seminary long distance and completed my degree while serving at Grace Baptist Church in Grand Forks, North Dakota. Through a series of events that were crazy, God brought me to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and Veritas Church. As I mentioned, my wife Sharon and I were married in June of 2001 and we have been blessed with three sons, Finley, Piper, and Oliver. God continues to grow us as we pursue our marriage and raise our boys.    

Over the years, the outdoors has been a highlight, I love the country over the city and the mountains over the beach. I enjoy listening to various kinds of music, reading, or building cabinets. Sometimes I get to do and enjoy remodeling. In 2012, I started riding a bicycle again and have enjoyed around 25,000 miles by bike. It is a goal, if God wills, to cover all 50 states before I’m unable (40 left, and no, I haven’t done RAGBRAI!). A highlight of my year is when our family rides our bicycles through a state together. We are currently on a multiple-year journey down the Mississippi River trail. More than that, through bicycle touring, we have been able to raise thousands of dollars for a school and church in Santiago, Dominican Republic. It has been a delight to glorify God through the bike ride. 

Growing up in a non-believing home, I found myself searching for something — anything that would fill the void in my life — from sports to relationships, to experiences, to success. Of course, we all know where that leads at the end of the day — to the land of disappointment. Despite all that, I found myself praying at the end of the night — often asking God for forgiveness. A few years later in college, I continued down the same path, looking to fill that “void” with all the temptations college life brings. Fortunately, a young lady I was interested in invited me to church where I found myself asking many questions. Not long after, she invited me to a college ministry event at the University of Northern Iowa. On October 10, 1998, God had been preparing my heart to hear the Good News. I just couldn’t believe what Jesus had done for me — taking my place on the cross and allowing me access to a Holy God. Since then it has been a continual sanctification process ever since.  

My wife, Jessica, and our three boys, Maddox, Jace, and Brooks, moved to Mount Vernon in the spring of 2013. Our good friends told us about Veritas — after visiting one time, we knew it was going to be a tremendous place to grow in Christ and a place we would call home.

We have been attending Veritas Church since the Chrome Horse days back in 2013. Shortly after joining the church, I started leading worship and was asked to be a part of that first elder team, and I have been with that team ever since.

I became a believer in 1993 after attending a business conference. I was pretty upset that Zig Zigler would have wasted so much of my time by presenting the gospel message. On the way home, I listened to a cassette tape that was handed out to everyone. Zig was talking about how Jesus could be my savior and no matter how tough my life was at the time; he could guide me through. It got me thinking about the mess my life and marriage were in. The more I listened the more I knew Christ was my answer. I finally pulled over to the side of the road and gave my life to Christ. I knelt on my knee and told God I was broken and sinful and knew he could lead me away from my sinful life. Just then I heard thunder from a very small rain cloud that was passing, in an otherwise blue sky. That convinced me that God would help me through whatever tough times I was dealing with. I felt the Holy Spirit upon me.

I can’t say that left all my sinful ways behind, but that was the start of my journey. I started changing how I treated my spouse, children, and those around me. Not all my friends appreciated the change. I had some that turned away because I no longer would fit how they thought I should be. It was hard accepting their turning away but, I started hanging out with other Christians that had a huge influence on my life. My faith continues to grow to this day. I have been blessed with 43 years of marriage, a daughter and son-in-law who have three girls, and a son and daughter-in-law who also have three daughters. We feel fortunate that our kids and son and daughter-in-laws are following Christ. We pray every day that our granddaughters will come to know Christ as their Savior.