It is a wonderful gift to be the pastor of a church I would attend if I wasn’t its pastor. In 2009, my wife Emily and I worshipped at HCC for a year and half before God called me to be the Associate Pastor of Family Ministry in Ocean Srings, Mississippi. In 2019, God saw it fit to call me here to serve HCC as its pastor.

When Emily and I first visited HCC, we found a congregation that loved Jesus, who were committed to living into the good news of the gospel, who longed to live according to Christ’s Word in Scripture, and loved one another as Christ has loved them. We are amazed at the providence of God that has called us back here to join HCC in its mission of sharing Jesus Christ with others and growing as his disciples.

Before HCC, I served as the Associate Pastor of Family Ministry at First Presbyterian Church of Ocean Springs, Mississippi from March of 2011 to March of 2019. I was able to use my gifts of developing Christ-centered community, inviting others to come and see Jesus in order to follow him wherever he leads.
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I am a native of the Midwest, having grown up in St. Louis and Chicago, completing my BA in History at Calvin College in Grand Rapids. This will be my fourth time to live in Texas since undergrad: I was a youth director in San Antonio, 6th grade teacher in Brownsville, and then substitute taught in Coppell until God call us to Ocean Springs. I followed Christ’s call into ordained ministry in 2006 and graduated from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in 2009.

Emily is a native Texan, having grown up in Fort Worth and is a certified Occupational Therapist. All three of our children- Nathanael (10), Karis (8) and Clara (5) were born in Ocean Springs. They keep us busy with church and school activities, sports, and music lessons.

When I’m not at church or chasing our kids around, you can most likely find me on the golf course, a local coffee shop reading, maybe out for the occasional run, or at home baking and playing board games with the family.

With a trombone-playing father and a piano-playing mother, I don’t remember a time when music was not a part of my life. I grew up with wonderful church choir directors who gave me a fantastic foundation in singing and who helped me develop a love of musical service. I began studying flute at age 12 at Coppell Middle School East and ultimately earned a Bachelor of Music Education degree in 2007 from Baylor. I grew up in the church but didn’t fully commit my life to Christ until age 17. I have always felt closest to God when making music and I am so incredibly grateful to be able to use those gifts to help support my family and most importantly, for the glory of Jesus Christ!
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I first visited Hackberry Creek church when I was a junior at Coppell High School and returned five years later when I was finishing up my student teaching semester here in the DFW area. I had never experienced such a true representation of a “church family” and that is what drew me back to HCC. From day one, I served on the worship team and I became the Children’s Music Director in 2015. After our long-time music director’s retirement, I took over as the Director of Music Ministry in April 2021. My goal is to build a team of lead worshippers and provide a multitude of musical opportunities for the HCC family that will bring them closer to the presence of God. Our goal is not to perform, but to praise!

In what free time I can scrounge up, I enjoy exercising, reading, watching movies, being outdoors, baking and cooking, and spending time with my husband, Donald, and daughters, Cayley and Isabel.

I was born in Amarillo, TX and grew up in East Dallas attending Bryan Adams HS. In 1970, I went to The University of Texas and graduated 3 years later with a Bachelors in Radio, TV and Film. Returning to Dallas, I went to work for then KDFW-TV in the news and sports departments, later working at WFAA-TV as Sports Photographer. After several years at an independent production company doing work for the Dallas Cowboys, I went out on my own as a sole proprietor, contracting in all aspects of video production locally and across the country.

I met and married Patricia Royal in 1979 and in December celebrated our 43rd anniversary. We moved to Coppell in 1999 and have one daughter, Samantha 36 and one grand-dog, Gehrig 8 who live in Westminster, CO. We enjoy visiting and spending time with them in Colorado and the mountains many times a year.

I am presently semi-retired and enjoy traveling with my wife, playing golf (habitual high handicapper), riding around the country on my motorcycle (yes, it is a Harley-Davidson), photography and watching football (long suffering UT and the Cowboys).

Experience at HCC:
Our family joined the then Presbyterian Church at Hackberry Creek following the migration of folks from First Presbyterian Church in Irving, Texas in 1998. After HCC moved to its current location, I served for several years on the Property Team and then served two terms as a Deacon. I have been involved in Small Groups, a driver for Family Promise, volunteered and worked on the HCC Media Team and chaired the 2018 Security Team. After Dave Irvin retired, I took over as the HCC Media Team Coordinator. During the Covid-19 lockdown, I volunteered and eventually added Livestreaming Coordinator to my volunteering duties. I currently still coordinate the Media and Livestreaming activities for HCC. In June 2021, I was asked and accepted the part time paid role of Facilities Manager at HCC. It has been an active, busy and fulfilling time at Hackberry Creek Church.

I’m thankful to be a preacher’s kid. My parents and grandparents always took the time to speak Christ into my life, as well as into my siblings’ lives. We were given the space to wrestle and learn about who Christ is and what he has done for us. The Holy Spirit got hold of all our lives, and we all came to know Christ.

Being a preacher’s kid, I told myself I would never work in a church. Well, God has a sense of humor, so he took me on a roundabout journey into vocational ministry. At Southwest Texas State I studied Physics and Math, later keeping my anti-ministry pledge by working in R&D before teaching Math. While I was a teacher, I worked as a camp counselor at Highland Park Presbyterian Church’s Summer Splash Day Camp (I didn’t consider it a job, so I thought I was keeping my pledge). It was there that I fell in love with telling kids about Jesus. And so, in 2000, when Highland Park offered me a job in Elementary Ministry, I couldn’t say no. I could see God’s hand in the job offer and in how He had been preparing me, and so I followed Him. What a journey from that day! For 23 years I worked at HP Pres in various ministries. It was there I met and married my beautiful wife of 22 years, Amy. It is where our kids Ellie (19) and Jack (16) were baptized. It was not just a church, but became family.

And now God has us on a new journey, to Hackberry Creek Church. Again, he went ahead of us, and we couldn’t say no. So, we followed Him. We are excited for what he has for us here at HCC and are very excited to get to know you, our new church family. One of my favorite things are stories. I love to hear peoples’ stories of how God takes individual lives and grafts them into his wonderful story. So, please, reach out and let’s have a conversation. God Bless!

I am from a small farming community in southwest Louisiana. My sister and I grew up listening to bible stories, singing VBS songs, and attending weekly worship at the First Presbyterian Church. I watched my parents and grandparents live their Christian faith with purpose through mission work, several ministries and church leadership. It is because of this example and early introduction to Jesus as a child that I credit my strong faith foundation and passion to serve. I was nine years old when my father was called into ordained ministry and my family relocated to Austin, Texas.

I loved attending youth retreats in high school and later as an active member in campus ministry as an undergrad at The University of Louisiana at Lafayette. There I studied Fashion Merchandising, which eventually led me to Dallas due to the job market opportunities in corporate retail. After several years as a buyer’s assistant and later managing my own categories, I returned to school for a Master’s in Merchandising from The University of North Texas. ​

My husband and I started a family shortly after moving to the metroplex in 2003. We chose Coppell because we found our church “home” in St. Ann Catholic Parish, where we have been active members for the past sixteen years. My vocation as a mother to our two amazing children (now 8 and 14) has been the most wonderful and challenging mission of my life. Our family has been beyond blessed, allowing me to stay home with the kids and volunteer in a variety of ministries within the Dallas Diocese. I am excited to join the HCC staff and serve the church community as your new Administrative Assistant.

I grew up in East Orange, NJ. I’ve been a member of Hackberry Creek Church for nine years. Prior to moving to the Dallas Metroplex in 2010, I was a member of First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood where I served on staff in the Evangelism Department, with a specialty in Membership. I’m a graduate of Princeton (Economics) and the University of Chicago (MBA). I like to read, watch films, and write. Two of my plays were produced by our church: “The Trial of Dietrich Bonhoeffer,” and “Interview With Sojourner Truth.”

The Lord put the calling on my life to serve adolescents while I was still one myself. Growing up going to Riverbend Church in Austin you could always find me in a play or kid’s choir at the church, but it wasn’t until I was given the freedom to explore my own faith in our student ministry that I truly began to be humbled by Christ. Since then, student ministry has always been my home wherever the Lord has led me.

After high school, I moved to Waco to attend Baylor University, graduating with a BA in Psychology with a Minor in Religion. During my undergrad, I served in several youth ministries as an intern as well as the Youth Director at Heights Baptist Church in Temple for almost two years allowing me hands-on learning under fantastic mentors in vastly different contexts.

When I began my MDiv at Truett Seminary in 2019, I also began serving as the Youth Minister at First Baptist Church in Lexington, Texas. FBC is in the unique position of sharing a property line with the middle and high school in town creating a stream of students pouring into the church ready to be discipled. The Lord allowed this to be a place where I could discern and hone the vision for ministry he gave me, more fully understanding the calling he has placed on my life which paired perfectly with my seminary education.

Having graduated from Truett in 2024, much discernment led to my transition from Waco to ultimately follow God’s call to Hackberry Creek Church. My prayer in this season was for the Lord to help me find a home: a church home and a community to call home. I am excited to follow this next step that God has for me alongside this body of believers!

While I consider my whole life on mission, beyond my life at church, I love to cook anything or smoke some meat, play board games with friends, go on photography hikes, or host games on my small Twitch channel. So if you have any new recipes or a board game you want to try together, my door is always open!