Working at Harvest has been a dream ten years in the making. In August of 2012, I was disillusioned with ministry after a horrible experience as an intern at a church that I invested my life into for years. I was discouraged and considered going down another career path until a family friend recommended that I meet up with the pastor of a new church plant called Harvest Bible Chapel Pittsburgh North. I reluctantly agreed to the meeting and had dinner with Pastor Jeff at the Double Wide Grill in Cranberry (R.I.P.). We became fast friends over a greasy plate of fried lugnuts and to my surprise, Jeff invited me to come onboard as his pastoral intern. Over the next year, I preached four sermons, co-led membership classes, and received solid training from a seasoned veteran. But I had to leave the internship after I graduated from Geneva College and moved down to Louisville, KY to begin my Master of Divinity at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Jeff and I remained close friends and he always made it clear that he would love to bring me onboard as his associate at some point in the future.
I met my wife, Kate, at Geneva College a few months before my internship at Harvest began and she moved down to Louisville with me and lived with her cousin until we were married on July 26th, 2014. During our time down south, we both felt a sense of homesickness and desired to move back to Pittsburgh. I grew weary of filling my head with information in the classroom that I wasn’t putting into practice. We prayerfully submitted applications to churches back home and finally got a bite at North Park Church in Wexford. After a lengthy interview process, I was hired as their Director of Student Ministry. The average tenure for a youth pastor is a year and a half but by God’s grace, I served at NPC for seven and a half years. I finished up my master’s degree online as I served as a youth pastor. It was such a breath of fresh air to be able to apply my studies in the context of youth ministry.
Kate has her own photography business and she works part time at Bethany Christian Services in Wexford. The Lord has blessed us with two beautiful kids: Samuel Mason and Emmy Elise. Sam is a shy yet hilarious toddler and Emmy is a smiley and social 6-month-old who will definitely want to be your best friend. We also have a goofy and sweet golden retriever named Murdock who constantly keeps our kids entertained. Kate and I cannot express how thankful we are that the Lord has orchestrated the events of the past ten years to lead us to this church. Being the associate here is a massive answer to prayer and a privilege that I do not take lightly. We covet your prayers as we acclimate to a new ministry and season of life. We look forward to getting to know all of you!
P.S. Here is my favorite picture of the kids together.
