What 42 Years Have Taught Me About Faith, Ministry, and People
Life Lessons from 42 Years of Faith, Family, and Ministry
In January of 2026, I turned 42.
Forty-two feels old enough to look back with gratitude and young enough to keep learning. As I reflect on the journey God has led me through so far, I am struck by how much of my life has been shaped by people, relationships, and opportunities to serve. Nineteen years of ministry, six churches, four states, countless sermons, Bible studies, road trips, and friendships later, I can clearly see God's guiding hand in each step.
Brief Timeline from College Graduation to Present
Weslaco Seventh-day Adventist Church
Associate Pastor
During my second year, I also helped with the Mercedes Seventh-day Adventist Church
~2 years
Texas
Andrews University Seminary
~2.5 years.
Master of Divinity Degree (100 credit hours, 3.94 GPA)
Helped at the Paw Paw Seventh-day Adventist Church
Michigan
Edinburg Seventh-day Adventist Church
~2 years
Youth Pastor
Texas
Brownsville and San Benito Church District
~ 3 years
Solo pastor for the first time
two church district
I was ordained
Texas
Park Avenue Seventh-day Adventist Church
4 years
Pastor of one church with a school (K-8th grade)
Georgia (Georgia-Cumberland Conference)
Cloverdale Seventh-day Adventist Church
4 years and counting
Lead pastor with one associate
Church, PreK-8th grade school, HUB365 community center
Idaho (Idaho Conference)
Looking back on my experience with each of the churches listed above, I see God’s guiding hand. Each church shaped my ministry, helped me grow and mature, and impacted my theology, leadership style, and approach to ministry. I feel that each church helped equip me for the next step in my ministry career. I loved all the churches I had the privilege of working with, and I stay in touch with friends from each of them to this day.
My ministry began in the Rio Grande Valley, on the southern border of Texas. I remember taking a group of teenagers from my Brownsville and San Benito churches to a youth event near Dallas, and it took us about 8 hours of driving to get there. My wife and very young kids also joined us for the long drive from San Benito to Keene, a 500-mile road trip.
Our combined youth group from the Brownsville and San Benito English (speaking) Churches just before our 8+ hour drive.
I know “The Valley” wasn’t a dream location for most pastors in the Texas Conference, but I had a great time there. I had the privilege of working alongside incredible people, and I learned so much during the 8 years I spent there (Weslaco, Mercedes, Edinburg, Brownsville, and San Benito combined). One of the things that stands out to me when I think back on my ministry experience is that the people and relationships have had the greatest impact on my life. Not to mention that South Padre Island was a great place to visit while living in “The Valley.”
My kids enjoying the beach.
I am grateful to God for our experience in the Rio Grande Valley and all the incredible people we had the privilege of working alongside. From there, I accepted a call to serve as pastor of the Park Avenue Seventh-day Adventist Church in Valdosta, Georgia. So we moved from the border with Mexico to the border with Florida. I had gone to college in Tennessee, so I was familiar with the South, but this was new for my wife. I remember when we first visited Valdosta and the surrounding area, we were amazed by how many trees there were and how large they were. That was also where we bought our first house.
This was the vew of our backyard.
Even though I was pastoring one of the southernmost churches in the Georgia-Cumberland Conference, the drive to events was much shorter than the 500-mile road trips we took while pastoring the southernmost church in the Texas Conference.
I really enjoyed working in Georgia and met incredible people. This time, we had access to the Smoky Mountains, Florida beaches, and the Atlanta Airport. Valdosta was a great place to raise our kids, and our church had a school, so my kids began attending school for the first time.
In 2021, I received a phone call asking if I would be interested in pastoring a church in Idaho. I had to look up where Idaho was on the map. I did not realize it was part of the Pacific Northwest. This call came out of the blue since I did not know anyone that far west. My wife and I prayed about this call and felt God was calling us out west. Not only was this going to be a long trip (across the country), but it was also a significant change in church size. During the interview process, I told the church in Idaho that this would be a big change, but they were willing to give it a try, and so my family and I moved west. Though the culture in Boise, ID, is very different from that of Valdosta, GA, people’s spiritual needs remain largely the same.
We have been with the Cloverdale Seventh-day Adventist Church since 2021, making it the longest time we have been in the same church since I began full-time ministry. The scenery also changed. South Texas, Michigan, and South Georgia were fairly flat, and now we have some hills and mountains to hike and explore.
I took this picture at a place about two hours from Boise.
Insights
Relationships - After 42 years of life and 19 years of ministry, I am grateful for many things. But more than the places I have lived, the sermons I have preached, or the positions I have held, it is the people and relationships that have had the greatest impact on my life. Looking back, that may be the most important lesson of all. Relationships are vital and should be prioritized above money, programs, and things.
Simplicity - I have also learned that I prefer to keep things simple. I like to be intentional and make my interactions meaningful. Small groups and personal Bible studies are where I do my best work.
Teaching - One insight that remains true after 19 years of ministry is that I enjoy teaching. My favorite aspects of ministry often involve teaching Sabbath school and studying the Bible with individuals or small groups. Those are the experiences find most rewarding. I do enjoy preaching to the entire congregation, but my sermons are more like Bible studies than carefully crafted speeches.
Best Decisions
Looking back on my life, the best decisions I made seem to be the following.
The decision to give my life to Jesus, accepting Him as my Lord and Savior, and being baptized. I made this decision when I was 10 years old, and it has deeply influenced every other decision I have made since. My identity as a follower of Christ has been foremost in my mind, shaping every other choice I make.
The decision to marry my wife was one of the best decisions I ever made. She has been a huge blessing in my life, and I am the man I am today largely due to her support, wisdom, and influence.
Taking care of my health. This is a complex one, but I would focus on three things: Eating healthy (fruits, veggies, nuts, and avoiding junk), getting enough sleep (going to bed by 10 PM), and moving my body (whether at home, in the park, or at the gym; I like to stay active and lift weights when I can). I have never been extreme in any of those aspects, but I have always carefully considered diet, rest, and exercise.
Key Skills
I remember hearing a thought experiment about a world coin-flipping contest. The idea is that this would be a competition in which the outcome is entirely due to chance. Some of you might argue that there is a technique involved: which side the coin is facing when you flip it, how high you flip it, how fast the rotations are… I get it. But for the sake of the illustration, let’s say it’s 100% random and requires 0 skill. Eventually, one person would win the competition. This person would be the world champion at coin flipping, would be invited to speak, and would write books and tell everyone the key to becoming the best coin flipper in the world.
I share that story to highlight my self-awareness that what I am about to list is what has worked for me. I am not saying I have it all figured out, nor that my insights are universally applicable. But I do hope that as you read them, you will find some value.
These are in no particular order, and I still have much to learn about each.
Listening - Listening and asking clarifying questions are vital skills for good leadership. Many of the decisions I make are shaped by the feedback I receive, whether it concerns felt needs or areas where things are going well.
Communicating clearly - Recently, I noticed how often people tell me they appreciate how my sermons/devotionals/messages make sense. At first, I thought people were searching for something positive to say, and if there was nothing good about the sermon, well, at least it made sense. But later, I began to realize how often people seem unsure what the sermon at church is about. It still surprises me how far clear diction and logical progression go.
Writing - This has probably had the greatest impact on my preaching. I can preach with an outline, with bullet points, with just my Bible and no notes. I have been doing this for almost 20 years now, and I do not need a full written-out manuscript to read while I preach. But I write a full manuscript for every major sermon I preach. The process of writing out the full manuscript forces me to make sure my ideas are connected. I write a full manuscript not because I need to read it later, but because it organizes my thoughts. That is how this blog was born. I find writing sermons to be very difficult but also incredibly rewarding. I struggle with two areas: getting started and stopping.
Storytelling - I love hearing, reading, analyzing, and telling stories. I believe some of my best sermons are when I preach on the Bible’s stories /narratives. I also enjoy the process of telling stories and have intentionally worked on developing the necessary skills.
At 42, I do not feel like I have arrived. If anything, I am more aware of how much I still have to learn. I am grateful for where God has led me so far, and I am excited to see what He has planned for the years ahead. I’ll stop here for now. I would love to hear from you! What have been some valuable life lessons you learned? Which skills have you developed that have helped you in life? Let me know in the comments below.
