My story isn’t really about me.

It’s about Jesus.

The power of my testimony (or yours) isn’t in my mistakes, my failures, or even my redemption — it’s in the relentless love of Christ that met me in the middle of my mess.

I grew up in a Christian home, surrounded by truth, but I ran as far from it as I could.

Drugs and alcohol consumed my teenage years, and my rebellion took a toll on my family. I spiraled so far out of control that my parents had to hire men to kidnap me and send me to a school for troubled kids.

I spent 18 months there — angry, lost, and convinced that I didn’t need saving.

But Jesus had other plans.

Even after all that, I still resisted Him. It wasn’t until my junior year of college Wake Forest University, on a mission trip to the Dominican Republic, that everything changed. I went to serve others, but God sent me there to rescue me.

For the first time, I truly understood the weight of my sin and the depth of His grace. I surrendered my life to Jesus, not because I had finally figured things out, but because He never stopped pursuing me.

For years, I thought my testimony was about my wild past — the bad decisions, the rebellion, the years I spent running from God.

But that’s not the point.

The point is that I was blind, and now I see. I was lost, and Jesus found me.

I didn’t clean myself up and come to Him — He met me in my mess and saved me anyway.

I used to think my story went like this: I was a wreck, Jesus changed my heart, and now I have my act together.

But here’s the truth: I was a mess, Jesus rescued me, and I’m still a mess — but by His grace, I’m a little less of one every day.

Today, I’m a husband to my lifelong best friend, Daphne Thompson, a father to three incredible boys, and a man chasing God’s purpose with every step.

I’ve lived a life filled with mountaintop victories and soul-stretching valleys.

Through it all, I’ve discovered that the most meaningful life is one lived in service to others — because when you’ve been rescued by grace, you can’t help but spend your life pointing others to the Rescuer 🙌