I was born and grew up in Vero Beach, Florida. While attending a little Baptist Sunday School in the summer of
1962, I came to know the Lord as my personal Savior. I have warm memories of Sunday School, and I still have that
old Sunday School Bible presented to me in 1962.
Unfortunately, we eventually stopped attending that little church (Can we ever remember why we stop going to church?).
Somehow I never went to another. I graduated high school in 1971 with few goals other than to finish school and
go to work! Concerning spiritual matters, from a practical point of view, I was no different than an unbeliever.
I became an alcoholic. I sank into other immorality. I was like an airplane in a tailspin, plummeting toward certain
destruction. My life was the personification of disobedience toward God. It is hard to describe the emptiness and
loneliness that was within me. Even though I sought them diligently through the things of this world, I could find neither
joy nor peace. I was living a life totally independent of God. What a perfect formula for ruin! It seemed as if
there was little hope for this converted Sunday School boy.
In my early 20's, I enlisted in the U.S. Navy for a change in my life. The truth is, life only got worse. I often
thought, "Surely life can't get any worse than this!" While stationed in Norfolk, Virginia, I met
my wife Maureen. After a very short courtship, we were married. I soon discovered that her life was just as hopeless as was mine. Marriage didn't seem to help either of
our problems; we were both still miserable. After leaving the Navy, we moved to Maryland. It was there where we finally realized what was missing in our
lives! We found a good, Bible-believing church, and very quickly things began to change in our lives. We helped
in any ministry we could, and our young children were right by our sides and helped in everything we did. Life
became exciting and complete!
In 1985, I moved our family from Maryland to Rhode Island. We served in good churches here for many years. During
these years we saw many great things happen. However, the greatest thing I experienced was the Lord's calling of me into ministry! Eventually the Lord brought us to The North Tiverton Baptist Church in 1997 where we have enjoyed many glorious years. We are expecting and praying for many more years to come with this dear church!