What is your official title?
Student & College Pastor
What does your job involve?
My passion in life is to lead a large group of students to a place in their walk with God that they have never been. My goal is to raise them up as leaders with a call and passion to take Christ to the nations. God’s word states that if “I am lifted up, I will draw all men unto me;” therefore, it is my life’s mission to lead students in a way that would allow them to magnetically draw the lost towards God, and in turn change this world for Christ!
Where were you born and raised?
St. Louis, Missouri
How large is your family?
There were five of us. I have two older brothers.
When and how did you come to know Christ?
I came to Christ at the age of 7-years old. Elvis Presley’s step-brother led me to Christ.
What was your first job?
My first job was as a radio DJ for an oldies station.
Where did you go to college?
I graduated from Hannibal La-Grange College with my Bachelor’s degree in Education and I’m currently working on my Master’s degree in Church Leadership through Liberty University.
When and to whom did you marry?
I married Betsy McElroy Bartig on August 17, 1996.
How many children do you have?
I have two boys.
How did you get into ministry?
I was called into ministry when I was 17. I lead a little boy to Christ on the curb of a trailer park and just knew that God wanted me to become a pastor.
Where else have you served (churches, ministries)?
Most recently, I served as the Minister to High School Students at Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, Texas. I also served as a Student Pastor at Warren Baptist Church in Augusta, Georgia. In Missouri, I led students at First Baptist Church of Rayton, First Baptist Church of Oak Grove, and First Baptist Church of Desoto.
What do you like most about your job?
I like raising up students to be the leaders Christ has called them to be! I love watching students who don’t know Christ coming to know Him because their peers lead them to Him.
What is your most memorable moment in ministry?
I don’t think that I have just one.
What is your favorite Bible verse?
My life verse is Jeremiah 17:7-10: "Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose trust is the LORD. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit. The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? I the LORD search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds."
What do you like to do with your free time?
I love to cut my grass and take care of my yard (does that sound old, or what?). I also enjoy watching the St. Louis Cardinals.
If you weren’t a pastor or on staff here, what would you be doing?
I would probably have a very competitive sales job.
Is there something about you people would be surprised to learn?
I like to sing and was in a traveling group in college. And if I had the opportunity, I would like to play in one game of professional baseball.
What brought you to First Orlando?
I knew I wanted the chance to be part of something very special here. I truly feel that God’s hand is all over our ministry and that over these next few years He is going to blow us away with all that comes to fruition.