About Us
The first time we met was during our freshman year of college at Bob Jones University and happened to be on Karen's 18th birthday. I was a third wheel at the fall artist series with Karen and her date, my sophomore roommate. We were good friends but no more than friends all that first year of college. But at the start of our sophomore year, we started to develop our relationship and soon realized that God had brought us together for a special purpose.
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We talked regularly through our college years of how we might best serve God and overseas ministry was always something we were not just open to but were drawn toward. Dr. Bob Jones III challenged the student body in chapel to "give the first three years" after graduation to doing something to impact eternity. That seed of a thought captured my imagination and made so much sense to me. It was the beginning of a life's direction that influences us both to this day. It is the truth that Eternity Matters More.
After graduation from BJU in 1996 and our marriage on June 1, we moved to the island of Guam to join the team at Harvest Christian Academy as math and science teachers. It was in this amazing ministry that we learned so much about evangelism, discipleship, mentorship, fellowship, and brokenness. Until 2015 we were privileged to see God bless us with K-12 teaching and administration, Bible college teaching, multiple mission opportunities, deep friendships, and even have our four children, Jesse, Seth, Jake, and Emma be born and then born again. We left Guam with a firm and abiding realization that God is enough. He holds our being securely in His hands and will never fail His children.
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God in His providence led us to Killian Hill Baptist Church in Lilburn, Georgia to ministry as the Head of School (Doug) and math teacher (Karen) for Killian Hill Christian School. We learned again of God's deep love and faithfulness as we navigated a different school, culture and continent. But God gave us once again joyful and fruitful ministry alongside precious brothers and sisters in the school and church. In the summer of 2019, God did a marvelous thing and impressed on us both that the ministry in South Africa was to be our next place of ministry.
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We were in our final year at KHCS, preparing for deputation and support raising when we were asked to consider being an interim Head of School at Bob Jones Academy . God's spirit immediately confirmed in my heart that this was to be our next assignment as we prepared for living abroad. Our first year at BJA was a full and fruitful one as our team re-examined how we could make this historic K-12 school even more effective and purposeful in its mission to impact eternity. We once again came to treasure our teammates, students, and parents in the body of Christ here in Greenville. It was at the end of this first year, that God once again moved in our hearts and minds to see how we might maximize our remaining days for the gospel and eternity. We now see that we will be most effective by capitalizing on the strategic role and place of Head of School for BJA, in partnership with BJU to pursue educational inroads into Africa and the Middle East.
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We have come to embrace and cherish the two-fold nature of our family mission. The first focuses on disciple-making, encouraging, and building young lives in our current state-side Christian K12 and college setting. The second involves educational teaching, discipleship, and mentoring of nationals through one-week modules and also regular teaching and ministry trips to Africa and the Middle East. Building personal connections between state-side believers and nationals is a deliberate and rewarding strategy of ours. The whole body of Christ is strengthened as one part joyfully supplies what is lacking in the other! Please consider if God would want you to join with us in this reclaiming mission...because Eternity Matters More!