SINNERS SAVED BY GRACE
Michael and Stephanie got married in April 2, 2005. They are high school sweethearts, they attended Reedley College and UC San Diego together. They have four beautiful children and currently live in Reedley, CA. They were called to serve at LIFEhouse Valley Church (LVC) where Michael has served as an Associate Pastor of Adult Ministries since 2015 and Stephanie has served as small groups coordinator and Community Church Builder administrator. Their home is abundantly filled with all the love, joy, controlled chaos, and laughter a family of six brings! Their oldest son, Ethan was diagnosed with autism at a young age, which adds to the awesome dynamic of their family. When this family is not at work, school or church you can find them enjoying the blessings of life together (very often at Disneyland!).
Michael and Stephanie were called to plant early in their Christian walk shortly after accepting Jesus Christ as Lord as Savior in 2010. Still new in their faith, they looked to get plugged into service and have been members of the church leadership team since 2010. They have served faithfully in many capacities at LVC and are now stepping forward in obedience to answer the call to plant churches and expand God’s Kingdom. God has given them the vision to plant 7 churches in Central California in the communities of Orange Cove, Reedley, Dinuba, Sanger, Selma, Kingsburg, and Parlier.
The drive to plant churches comes from an overwhelming sense of gratitude and love for God. Having chased after what the world says will bring happiness and satisfaction; in education, good jobs, getting married, buying a home, having kids – they found the milestones did not satisfy their hearts desire. At the age of 30 they gave their life to Jesus and found that it was really God they were searching for all along. It is the desire to share the Good News of God’s love, that helps fuel their drive to share the gospel with young families and unchurched people in their surrounding communities.
In addition to his leadership role at LVC, Michael has served various leadership capacities and managed large teams and multi- site health care operations. He currently serves as Chief Administrative officer for a federally qualified health center in the Central Valley. Stephanie’s work experience also has prepared her for the work that lies ahead as a church planter. She has served in the most challenging and rewarding job on the planet, as a stay at home mom with their 4 children for the first 8 years of their lives. When their youngest went off to school, Stephanie went back to work part time. Stephanie is an intervention teacher and has been working with the local school district for the past 6 years. Michael and Stephanie have a passion for building systems, developing leaders, helping families, and they love spending time with their kids. They both come from large families and who provide amazing support to them. They also have a passion for families that are dealing with autism, as their oldest son Ethan was diagnosed with when he was 3 years old. They are overall, fun an down to earth people. They love each other deeply and love their family. They have God to thank for that, as it’s only by his grace that their marriage has grown stronger as they draw closer to each other under Gods covering.