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 and a saving faith in Christ. 

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 God's grace and for the ways He continues to grow us toward looking more like Jesus.  

I married my high school sweetheart, Ashley. We have five kids — Andersen, Reid, Grace, Griffin and Brooks. We have also recently added our first daughter-in-law through the marriage of our son Griffin to his bride Emma.

Our time at Veritas began in 2016 through a series of somewhat unbelievable (but for God) events. Having first heard about the church through a friend's social media post, I soon discovered that a couple of men I respected as Christ-followers were involved in leading the church. 

We decided to attend one Sunday morning at the DoubleTree and made the decision to call Veritas our church home a few weeks later. 

My family and I have been blessed by the ways God has grown us while at Veritas, and for the opportunities He has provided for us to serve as a part of this body of believers.

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, which now includes our daughter-in-law Stacey and grandson Obadiah. On top of that the passions of my life are 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, each other, 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.

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 12 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. I don't recall a specific conversion; my faith was marked by immaturity throughout my middle and high school years. I was shaped more by my friends than the Bible, and I wanted one foot in the world and one in the Church. It wasn't until I left home and was out on my own that my faith and devotion to Christ grew during my college years as I was surrounded by more spiritually mature teammates and coaches. My walk with Christ began to grow and mature during those years.  

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 family has been coming since 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, and I love being in the ministry trenches with them!

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, reading about anything written by John Piper, and turning off all the lights in my house that the kids leave on. 

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, building cabinets, or archery hunting. Sometimes I get to do and enjoy remodeling. In 2012, I started riding a bicycle again and have enjoyed around 30,000 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 cycling has been the multi year family bicycle tour from the Canadian border to the Gulf following the Mississippi River. More than that, through bicycle touring (Ride for the Dominican), 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.