Steve is a Jacksonville native—not our Jacksonville, but the one in Florida. We like to think he got here as quickly as he could, and he seems to have made this community his home. In fact, he’s been here quite a while, having served on staff at Central since January of 1995.

He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology from the University of North Florida and his Master of Arts in Education from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and he’s a pretty well-rounded guy, having held numerous ministry positions over the years. His heart really beats for missions, though, as he loves doing all he can to mobilize the church to reach the nations for Jesus. He says his favorite thing about Central is “doing life and missions together” with the people here.

Steve likes what he does, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have some dreams. If he weren’t in ministry, he says he would like to be a Major League umpire. We have to wonder if he likes being yelled at by strangers! But we suppose the love for baseball is one of the reasons he and the pastor get along so well. He likes football, too. In fact, Steve says he would love to have some really good Mexican food with legendary coach Bobby Bowden someday.

If you want to get on Steve’s nerves, just show up late to something. That’s a real pet peeve of his. That must be why all the senior adults are always on time when Steve plans an event. They want to stay on his good side. The truth is, though, we’re not sure Steve has a bad side. He’s a really nice guy.

We suppose one of the reasons Steve is so easy to get along with has to do with his favorite passage of Scripture, which is Philippians 4:6-7. That passage talks about taking all your worries to God in prayer and experiencing the peace of God that “surpasses all understanding.”

Steve is most happy, however, when he is with his sweet family. He and Rhonda have two daughters—Meagan and Ashley. But even more important than that is that Meagan has three precious little girls: Emery and twins Audrey and Tenley.

Email Steve at Steve@cbcjax.net