ABOUT the PASTOR,

Our Pastor was born and raised in Allegan County, where he lived until he graduated from high school in 1979. He then moved to Buena Vista, Colorado and began working for a local merchant. Several years later, after running upon hard times, he joined the military and completed Basic Training at Fort Benning, Georgia as a United States Infantryman before being sent to Berlin, Germany where he met his wife, Marina. Marina and Chris have three children, Andreas, Jeffrey, and Samantha, all of whom are married and have children of their own.

After leaving the military, he began working in the pharmaceutical field, and attended a local Baptist church in Allegan where he and his wife and children accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Savior. Between 1989 and 1997, he became a Drill Instructor with the U.S. Army Reserves, where he reached the rank of Sergeant First Class and developed a passion for teaching. In 2003, he received a Bachelor’s of Arts degree from Western Michigan University and later a Master’s of Science degree from Walden University in 2007. He taught in the public education system for six years before leaving and going on to complete a Biblical Studies program in 2013, becoming an ordained minister in 2015.

Pastor Chris has a broad range of experiences to include working with at-risk-children as a mentor through Kids Hope USA, a camp counselor at Camp Beach Point in Allegan, and an adult, teen, and intermediate level Sunday School teacher, and Leadership Board member, Deacon, Associate Pastor, Worship Leader, and Senior Pastor. He severed on the Grand County Ambulance crew in Kremmling, CO and a member of the Chaffee County Volunteer Fire Department. He has written several articles for the Middle Park Newspaper in Colorado and is currently working on writing a book, documenting his Christian experiences.