Ryan's story...


I grew up on a farm and value hard work.  I am passionate about being a Christ follower. Because of this passion I left the farm to be a pastor.  I earned a masters degree in Counseling Ministry from Cornerstone University. 
I love that God allows me to walk along all kinds of people as a pastor and offer them the hope that can only come from Jesus.  As much as I enjoy my job I enjoy being at home with my family even more.
 I am blessed to have a wife who makes coming home a joy. One of my biggest joys in life is spending time with my kids.  We spend most evenings together.  We play hard and have lots of fun together.
As a dad I take my responsibility seriously.   Most nights I tuck in all the kids, we talk, read, sing, and pray, it is a precious time where I get insights into each of the kids’ hearts. 



~ I am the oldest of 3 boys
~ I am a youth pastor and counselor.
~ I love being married to Stacy and being a dad.
~ I like to hunt and fish.

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I was raised in a family that went to church every Sunday and on Wednesday evening.  So the exposure to the gospel was all around me.  At the age of seven on a Sunday afternoon, I can remember laying on the floor and listening to the Children’s Bible Hour.  Because of what I heard I asked Jesus to by my Savior.  I continued to be immersed in church but I did not grow spiritually.  By the time I was in my early teens I was not sure if I wanted to continue in the church.  I saw so much hypocrisy in adults in the church.  At age 16 God grabbed my attention.  I was diagnosed with a Nuerofibroma tumor at the base of my spine.  Surgery was very risky.  I had an 85% chance of being paralyzed from the waist down and a 50% chance of wearing a colostomy bag.  Praise God the surgery was successful.  I remember laying in the hospital room and God saying Ryan I want you to go into fulltime ministry.  However, I had other plans.  I wanted to farm.  I went to school and received a degree in biology and soils.  I then began farming and working for the county agricultural district.  I was loving life.  But during this time God had not forgotten me nor his call on my life.  He brought a young lady into my life who loved God with everything she had; you could see it on her face.  She had something I was missing.  She was living a fully yielded life and understood what she had received when she exchanged her life for Christ.  I began to attend her church and saw other believers who were living their lives the same way.  My wife and I were wed and began to minister to the youth under Pastor Bill Giesel.  On June 1, 1997 I surrendered everything to Jesus and was baptized by emersion.  I began to grasp the reality of Galatians 2:20 and my life changed.   

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About Ryan from Stacy
Ryan is the best dad a kid could ever want.  He is very involved with the kids.  I love that he tucks them in bed at night.  He is very helpful at home and I am so blessed to be married to him!