Family: My wife, Charis; and we have a 3-month-old daughter, Lyla.

How did you meet your wife? We met in high school. We were both on the track team in high school, so we ran track together and as prom time was rolling around I asked her to prom. From there we started dating that summer, and we were married just a couple of years after that.

Work: I am the children’s pastor at New Heights Baptist Church. I also have a sales job on the side.

Are you an active member of any clubs, organizations, and/or communities of faith? New Heights Baptist Church, of course, and we just celebrated our four-year anniversary at the beginning of April. We pretty much have something going on most nights, between youth groups and different kids’ programs, or life groups, which we started at the beginning of spring. We have about seven different life groups that meet during the week for different life stages — men, women, young adults.

What do you enjoy doing in your free time? I love all things sports — playing sports, sports cards, watching sports — and hanging out with friends and family. I love being home, especially with the little one now. I’ve also met a lot of people at the church, which has been nice, and finding new hobbies through meeting those new friends.

Who or what has been the greatest influence in your life? My dad. My dad was always a hard worker, and taught us to always have a good work ethic. He also brought us to church when we were younger. He didn’t grow up in church, but we started going when I was about 8 years old. He instilled both a spiritual and good work ethic.

Favorite color? Blue.

Favorite food? Mac & cheese. My friends and family know I love mac & cheese.

Do you have a favorite travel destination? I went to Mexico this past fall, which was my first time out of the country. I loved seeing the whole culture, and it also gave me a much bigger appreciation for what we have here. And the food was really good. (Laughs) Even the cheese was so good for some reason.

Do you have a favorite podcast? Healthy Church is one I listen to from time to time.

Do you have a favorite author? My favorite book is Undercover Kindness by Jimmy Darts. It was definitely an interesting book to me. He is a social influencer who makes a lot of videos where he goes out into a community and asks like a stranger who needs help, maybe asking someone for a dollar or asking someone to help him tie his shoe. When they help he gives them a gift. He wrote a book about some of his best experiences and how he has helped people though them.

Do you have any unusual or surprising talents? For a few years I would do competitions for American Ninja Warrior. I competed in a couple national competitions for that through my teen years and out of high school.

What is your favorite thing about Newtown? One of the things I like is the back roads, and exploring them. You can be on a back road and then you find yourself in a beautiful neighborhood. Me and my wife like driving around and getting lost a little. We love doing that. I also like that there are farm lands and a busier part of town as well. I like both.

Do you have a personal credo? A quote I always have in the back in the back of my head is “I want to do something so big and so great that everybody knows that God did it.”