Autobiographical Statement of my Christian Experience

An autobiographical statement regarding my Christian experience, call to ministry, and formative Christian experiences.

I grew up in a Christian family. Church has always been a part of my family’s life. The only time I ever missed church was when I was sick. Even when we were on vacation, we attended church somewhere. Yet, as a young child, I never understood the message of faith. It was just a given that you believed in God and attended church.

I was very involved in First United Church of Christ, my family’s church, as a young person. Even though I did not realize it at that time the foundations of the Christian faith were being instilled in my life.

In March of 1983, at the age of 25, while attending Trinity United Methodist Church in Poquoson, Virginia, I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior. From that time forward, I began to feel that God was calling me to a specific task. It was not until 1985, during the churches annual prayer breakfast, two years later, that I realized God was calling me into the ordained ministry.

Looking back on my life I can see how my Christian faith was formulated during my childhood through the early adult years of my life. Along with being brought up in a Christian home, there were special Christian people to whom I was drawn to as a young person while attending First United Church of Christ in Hampton, Virginia: Henry and Sally Aldridge, Mr. & Mrs. Mason and their daughter. These people lived out their Christian faith. I can see now their love of Christ and how they ministered to me as a child and young person. The teachings, the sharing, the times we spent together outside of the church, all reflected their love and devotion to Christ.

Later on in life, I moved to Poquoson, Virginia, where I began attending Trinity United Methodist Church. There I met people like Shelly Moore who lead me to Christ; Rodger and Joann who allowed me to work with them in youth ministry; the late Rev. Jim Couchman, pastor of Trinity UMC whose spirit touched my heart; and the now Rev. Carol Bookwalter, retired United Methodist clergy, who lead a share group in my home. These folks showed and taught me what true faith, trust, and love in Jesus could accomplish for my life.

I also became involved in a United Methodist Lay Witness Missions project which brought me one step closer to fulfilling my call.

While working with a Lay Witness Mission Team in October of 1985, I met Mary Bruner, the Director of News and Media Relations at Virginia Wesleyan College. In June of 1986 I felt the presence of the Lord and His leading to call Mrs. Bruner. To my surprise Mary remembered me and my desire to enter school. Within three days, I had been accepted into college. I now hold a Bachelor of Arts degree in Religious Studies from Virginia Wesleyan College and a Masters of Divinity degree from the School of Theology, Virginia Union University.

While attend Virginia Wesleyan College, I accepted a position at St. Luke's United Methodist Church, in Grafton, Virginia, as the Assistant to the Minister, under the direction of Dr. Donald Roberts. I served there for three years prior to taking my first appointment.

I have served the following appointments:

Sardis UMC in Amherst, Virginia (1 year)

The Irvington Charge: Irvington and White Marsh UMC, in the Rappahnock area of Virginia. (4 years)

The McKendree / Asbury Charge in Halifax, Virginia (3 years)

Fairview UMC, Lynchburg, Virginia ( 6 years)

Bethlehem UMC, Concord, Virginia (5 years)

I have now served as a full-time minister in the Virginia United Methodist Conference for 19 years. I will begin my 20^th year with the conference on July 1st.