The Start
I want to introduce myself to any who do not currently know me, attend our church, or those that just want to get to know me a little better. I grew up in rural southern Idaho, in a town named Eden. Our town had 324 people in it. I love when people around here talk about how they live in a small town, and they say their town has 5000 people in it. I was from a really small town, what was great about Eden was that everyone knew each other. There was a great sense of community. I think that is what our church needs to focus on. No matter how big or small, there has to be community. That is what we are going to be focusing on for Seawall Church. We intend to be a large church. We love small churches, I grew up in a small church, but we believe that God as impressed upon us that we are going to reach many people in Galveston and the surrounding area.
Growing up, my family went to the Presbyterian church in our town, my dad was on the elder board, and we volunteered in just about everything. I went to vacation Bible school every summer, prayed over every meal, and had a pretty good relationship with God. When I was about 12 years old, we were invited to a charismatic church in another city near by. It was there that my mother and sister were filled with the Holy Ghost, a few weeks later I too received the baptism of the Holy Spirit evidenced in speaking in other tongues. I stayed in the Presbyterian Church for a few more years until I was 16 and we left and started attending Eternal Life Church about 30 min from our house.
Once we started going to Eternal Life I eventually started attending their youth ministry which was led by one of my greatest friends, Clay Ramirez. He and I spent a lot of time together my senior year in high school and I began to deepen my relationship with God. At this same time, I was preparing to attend a private college in southern California to run track and play football. As the time was getting closer to leave, I felt a burden that I had never felt before. My whole life I had only wanted to run track at a college, my father ran at school and I wanted to follow in his footsteps. As the time to get ready to go approached my love for running and playing football began to fade. It was replaced with a desire to know God on a different level. I began to search out Bible School options. Clay had attended a small Bible College in south Texas just outside of Houston in a town called La Marque. I began to look at this school, a school in Fort Worth, and Rhema Bible College in Tulsa. At the time, I had longer hair and Rhema said I had to cut my hair, so I scratched them off the list. The school in Fort Worth didn’t fit what I wanted, and La Marque was near the coast and I figured I could surf in the afternoons in Galveston so the choice was made.
I arrived in La Marque in August of 2002 at 18 years old. I threw myself into studies at school, getting connected to the church and seeking after the call of God in my life. I didn’t know what I wanted to do, I just wanted God to use me somehow. A few months after I arrived, Catherine and I began dating. We knew right away that we were perfect for one another. After dating two and a half years we were married.
In 2005 Catt and I began to minister together to teenagers and young adults. This has always been a passion for both of us. We worked on and off in youth ministry for the next 16 years. While serving at Abundant Life, we have had a hand in almost every ministry and opportunity possible. We have made a point of staying connected and making sure we always have a servants heart. Our passion for people has only grown over the years, and that brings us to today.
Our senior and founding Pastors Walter and Cindy Hallam asked us in July if we would be interested in pioneering a new church campus on the island of Galveston. I had never really thought about going to Galveston to plant a church, my mind and heart has always been more towards the Houston area rather than Galveston. When Pastor Hallam first mentioned it to us, we said we would pray about it and let him know. It was then that I began 21 days of prayer and fasting. I wanted to hear God’s voice for this opportunity. It was not something I wanted to just jump in to without being called. That is when the strangest thing happened, the exact same feeling that I had almost 20 years before when my desires shifted happened again. My heart was turned toward the island of Galveston. It became my obsession, I studied everything about the history, the culture, the people. I began spending almost every day immersing myself in the incredible island culture. This is where God has called us. This is where our destiny is, and we can’t wait to get started building a thriving community of believers that will Love God, Love People, and Make a Difference.