Pastor John was born and raised in the town of Poland, Maine. He and his family were active at the Pleasant Street Baptist Church in the neigboring town of Mechanic Falls. It was in this church that John, at the age of 7, accepted Christ as his Lord and Savior. Perhaps the most significant turning point in his faith occurred when he was 17, when he first felt a call into ministry.
After High School, Pastor John attended the University of South Maine for 2 years. In 1998, he transferred to Gordon College, a small Christian liberal arts college located on the North Shore of Boston, where he completed his degree in Biblical and Theological Studies. In the Fall of 2000, Pastor John entered Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in South Hamilton, Massachusetts, during which time he felt God clearly leading him to pastoral ministry. In his 5 years at Gordon-Conwell, John served as the Youth Pastor at the First Baptist Church of Hudson, New Hampshire, completed his Masters of Divinity and was ordained into ministry.
From 2006-2008, John served as the Associate Pastor for Youth and Families at Calvary Baptist Church in Andover, Massachusetts, after which time he accepted the call to Senior Pastor at Avon Baptist Church. In May 2016, Pastor John and his family moved to Baldwinsville, NY, and he began his ministry as Lead Pastor here at Grace. His wife, Cherryl, is very active in our Children's Ministry.
John met Cherryl in the Fall of 1996 at Pleasant Street Baptist Church where her father was the pastor. They married in July 2001. John and Cherryl have four children: Joel (21), Micah (19), Isaac (17), and Anna (15).
Pastor John has a passion for helping people grow and deepen in their faith, and helping churches develop and move into renewed vision for the Kingdom of God.
