God provided a way to have my sins forgiven and spend eternity with Him…
Growing up as a farm kid, I was taught hard work and doing good to others. I attended a small country church with my parents where I heard about Jesus and Bible stories but never heard that Jesus wants a relationship. I heard the Gospel for the first time when I attended a different church when I was in high school. I contemplated what I heard but did not do anything different.
I went to trade school and then moved away from home. I started attending a church like the one where I had heard the Gospel for the first time. While attending that church, someone again shared that I was a sinner and separated from God, and how God provided a way to have my sins forgiven and spend eternity with Him in Heaven through the work of Jesus on the cross. I received Jesus as my personal savior in 1991 and was baptized by immersion shortly after.
In 2015, I married my wife Deb, and together we have 8 children, 4 sons-in-law, 1 daughter-in-law and 7 grandkids. We live in Ankeny and stay busy serving at Lakeside and spending time with our large family.