I’ve been raised in a Pentecostal home since the day I was born. This church environment is all that I have ever known. I was raised by God fearing parents who taught me what it meant to serve God and the church and to be involved in ministry.

I have always been the “knucklehead” of my family and have continually pushed the envelope in life. But from a young age I have known that I had a special call of God on my life. I look back at my growing up, then meeting and getting married to my beautiful wife Trisha and our life together since then and I see God’s continual blessing and leading.

Shortly after our oldest son Eric was born we moved to Charleston, SC. My wife and I worked there as Youth Directors under Pastor W. L. Clayton. God continued to teach me and guide me as to what His design was for our lives. We moved to Atlanta a year later and my middle son Aaron was born. God had once again blessed me and my family. While in Atlanta I became extremely homesick for the Greenville area, my Pastor (Pastor Nelson), the home church (Life Restoration Center), and my family. A month after Aaron was born we moved back to Greenville.

I worked in the Law Enforcement field for several years and during this time God blessed us with our youngest son, Ian. It was also during this time in my life I let down on my commitment to God and to the Church. I was playing “Patty-Cake” for Jesus. Even though I knew God had called me, I began to run, I ran from God so hard that I almost ran totally away.

But were it not for a godly– praying mother who put me and my family into God’s hands and told Him, “What ever it takes to bring Chad and Trisha back, God do it.” My wife and I began to have serious problems in every aspect of our lives. By the devil’s and world’s standards we should be divorced. But God had other plans for us and our family and He started to put everything back together again, piece by piece. Through His grace and mercy and love and the love of Pastor and Catherine Nelson we were able to be restored as a family.

Even after all we had been through I still would not commit everything to God. I refused to sell out to Him lock, stock and barrel. I played semi-pro football with the Carolina Red Dawgs to fill my time and give me an excuse as to why I couldn’t be as involved in things at church and do what God had called me to do. I finished the season in October 2003 and two days later found myself sick in the hospital with the doctors not being able to find out what was wrong with me. This went on for a whole month until they determined I needed to have surgery. During this entire time God was dealing with me and drawing on my heart. In the back of my mind I continued to hear God telling me, “I want it all!”

In the beginning of the year 2004 I came to a crossroads in my life, I knew what I had to do. I called the owner of the football team and resigned. Crying I called my wife, then my parents and my brother and told them I’ve had enough. I was ready to follow God and do what ever He would allow me to do.

Although I mess up quite often (as I said because I am the knucklehead) God is continuously doing so many great things in my and my family’s life. He has opened and continues to open so many doors for us. His blessings never seem to cease.

I totally understand that only what we do for Jesus Christ will last. I am determined that as for me and my house, we are going to serve the Lord... No matter what the cost may be. I am totally amazed at what God has done. I am overwhelmed by what He is doing and can’t wait to see what He’s going to do in our lives.