About Me

Hey! I'm Nik. My hobbies include kayaking the Susquehanna, playing board games with friends, eating Tex Mex with my wife, woodworking in the garage, long walks with my daughter, playing the guitar with my family, and creaming my son at chess.

Here's my story in brief. I was born in Eastern North Carolina, raised on barbecue and sweet tea. My parents divorced when a year later, so I grew up swapping households and experiencing two completely different lifestyles. Our family began attending church around the age of ten, so I eventually became a regular in the youth group. At age fourteen I had been wrestling with fear of what would happen to me after death. My fears did not completely go away until I was seventeen. In the privacy of my own pickup truck, driving home from a soccer game, I told God that my life was His and I would do whatever He asked of me for the remainder of my life.

 

After leaving High School, I headed out to Bible college in California. It was here that I began dating Anna, marrying shortly after graduation in 2009. One week after our wedding date we loaded up everything we owned into my old Concorde and moved to Salem, Indiana where I became a solo pastor of a small church. Serving as a freshly-graduated, newly-wed, twenty-one year old pastor was a learning curb. 

 

While serving the church and community there, I soon realized I had many questions about theology and ministry practice. Recognizing a need for further education to grow in ministry, the hunt for a graduate school began. Anna and I decided it was time to further my ministry training at Dallas Theological Seminary. The move to a large city would allow us to learn and redefine ourselves. 

 

We soon made friends at DTS, became active in a local church, and settled in to life in the big city. Children certainly surprised us! During seminary, God blessed us with two amazing kids, Iren and Juliette. Raising children has been both the most challenging and joyful experience of our life together. 

 

The church we joined in Dallas soon had an opening for a Family Pastor. I interviewed for the position and was hired. The nearly three years in that role was life-giving. Graduation from Dallas Theological Seminary gave my family the chance to explore options for our next opportunity to serve Jesus’ church. We landed in Pennsylvania, where I joined the staff of Hershey Free Church (EFCA) as their Executive Pastor. Being in a large church (1300+ attendees) has given me the opportunity to serve with a fantastic staff, oversee thriving ministries, and develop my skills in leadership and pastoring.

 

Here is our family of four in a nutshell. My wife of fourteen years, Anna, is incredible. She serves as the fundraising and marketing manager for Love Inc. ("In the Name of Christ"), studies theology at Dallas Theological Seminary, and still finds time to be an amazing wife and mother. She’s German, a superb cook, attractive, and super fun, so I’ll keep her around for a while. We are the proud parents of two awesome kiddos: a ten-year-old boy and a nine-year-old girl. Our family enjoys being outdoors, playing board games, racing go-carts on Nintendo Switch, and singing along to Imagine Dragons. 

In January of 2023, I will to complete my Doctor of Ministry program with Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary. This program in Pastoral Theology focused on three aspects of pastoral ministry: leadership, shepherding, and preaching. My thesis project was an outreach experience: Evangelism that Engages Unchurched Young Adults. The opportunity to pursue this level of ministry training has been an honor, and has equipped me to guide a church towards greater maturity and outreach.