Our Testimony
Joani and I met and got to know each other further as we participated with The Navigators ministry at the University of Connecticut. We were married in 1981 and three years later moved to State College, PA with our daughter Maria, to volunteer with a campus ministry at Penn State University. We started a home-building business in 1987 and sought to hire college students to be part of the work crew. Over the years, we came to realize that God was working in this context giving us opportunities to minister to them and to model Christ before them.
In 1999, we earnestly sought the
Lord about a career change and also to evaluate a longstanding desire
to serve Him "full-time". Since we had known several
DiscipleMakers staff for years through our local church, it
was natural to discuss with them about how the Lord might be leading.
After making the decision to join the DM Staff Team, God worked in
us during the support-raising years to give us a deeper desire to
trust in His grace to change us and a greater heart for the
building of His kingdom. This process also enabled us to more
deeply teach our children dimensions of these same truths and to help
them grow in their walks with God.
Gary serves on the
Executive Management Team, and as Team Leader of the Special Projects
Team, implementing projects that will further the growth of the
ministry. Joani home schools their children, Janet (15), Meredith
(12), and Clayton (9), primarily to take advantage of the
opportunities to disciple their hearts and to teach them to look to
Christ (. . . that their hearts may be encouraged, having been knit
together in love, and attaining to all the wealth that comes from the
full assurance of understanding, resulting in a true knowledge of
God's mystery, that is, Christ Himself, in whom are hidden all the
treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Colossians 2:2-3). She tries to
stay in touch with other DM staff women and students as well, and
appreciates the sharpening relationships that exist there. Two of
our older children, Anna and Justin are both Penn State students and
are involved in the DiscipleMakers ministry. Maria, our oldest, is a
PSU and DM alumni, living and working in Richmond, VA, working to
"Reach the World" in her context.
We consider it both a
blessing and a privilege to serve the Lord with DiscipleMakers!
