I grew up in a Christian family—we were always in church. While I made a profession of faith at the age of six, it was more of what I would call “fire insurance” than a real relationship with Jesus Christ. Despite that, God got a hold of my heart when I was in high school and began using difficult circumstances to guide my life to where He wanted me.
I wasn't very motivated in high school. Therefore, I didn't get the grades I needed to get in to the college of my choice. So I started at a community college. That's where God introduced me to radio.
This renewed interest encouraged me to pursue finding a Christian college that taught Christian radio broadcasting. That's when my mother found Grand Rapids School of Bible and Music. I was not only able to learn about Christian radio, I was also actually on the air.
I didn't finish my education there, though. I was offered my first part-time job in Christian radio, which a few months later positioned me for a full-time radio position at WMPC radio. I was there for nearly 10 years before I moved to Mission Network News.
In 1995, I accepted the executive director position at MNN. With God's leading, my team and I grew the network to more than 1,000 radio outlets, while also overseeing amazing growth through our website and social media pages. Over more than 20 years there, we shared thousands of stories of God at work around the world.
In 2011, I went back to school to finish my degree and in 2013 I completed my education with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business.
In 2015, God led me away from MNN to join the staff of Keys for Kids Ministries, a ministry I grew up listening to as a child. God has given me a passion to share the Gospel with children. In the last 12 years I have traveled all over the world to share Christ with orphaned and disadvantaged children. I also serve on the board of Orphan Outreach.
Why? Most Christians turn to Christ between the ages of four and 14 (the 4-14 Window). It’s my desire to provide the tools adults need to reach out to kids where they live today to impact our next generation for Christ.