Bio
My faith story stretches back across generations. One of my earliest memories is sitting on my grandmother’s lap with a simple salvation coloring book, inviting Jesus to wash my heart clean. That image has stayed with me — not because faith is simple, but because it begins somewhere real and personal, and then grows into something much larger than you expected.
My own faith grew up at Drake University in Des Moines, where I discovered the joy of ministry and went on staff with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship rather than use my brand new teaching degree in an actual classroom. It was also at Drake that I met my husband, Dennis — which turned out to be the better decision of the two.
From there, God did what God tends to do: nudged, redirected, and prepared me in ways I didn’t always see coming. I served in pastoral roles in Pella and Knoxville, worked as a Marketplace Chaplain at Vermeer Manufacturing, and eventually answered a call to seminary that I probably should have seen coming sooner. All of it prepared me for this community.
Today I get to lead a church that takes Scripture seriously, asks honest questions, and is learning — imperfectly and beautifully — to love Jesus, ourselves and others across real differences. That’s the work I was made for.
Dennis and I have two adult children, Benjamin and Jessica, who remain the center of our hearts. In my free moments you’ll find me cooking something ambitious, drinking coffee with a friend, riding a bike or enjoying a stand up paddle board.