My name is Ethan. I grew up in a pastor’s home, with four other siblings. I gave my life to Jesus at eight years old, and at fifteen I had an encounter with God that changed my trajectory in life. At a youth camp, I was baptized by the Holy Spirit. In a moment, I went from a shy kid who struggled with hating himself, to a bold, spirit-empowered minister. Before this, I would be too scared to invite friends to my youth group… even when they asked to come! But right after this encounter with God, I found myself passionately praying and interceding for those around me, that they might experience what I did.
I am forever marked by that encounter with God. I would not be where I am today, had He not met me in that moment,
That’s not to say I was a saint right after. I still had so many things I was struggling with in silence. And not long after that moment, I found myself right back at square one… except this time, I had a sense that God wanted control.
It took me a while, but I finally surrendered everything to God in my senior year of high school. He had met me again, in a season where I was longing for purpose, but couldn’t get my own plans to work. I surrendered to God’s call to ministry at the age of eighteen.
Soon after, I went to Crossroads Leadership College and have been in full-time ministry at Crossroads Church since 2021, leading the Middle School Ministry, the High School Summer Internship, and the Young Adults Ministry. In 2023, the Lord called me to change directions and pursue missions work in persecuted nations.
In my time of serving the Lord, I have seen God use the most unlikely of vessels, like myself, to do the most amazing things. I am truly in awe of God’s faithfulness in my life, and I am truly living the best life I could have lived. I have chosen the name for this organization very intentionally. While yes, it’s an acronym for our mission statement, it’s more of a reminder. None of my life could’ve been possible without small and big STEPS of obedience… STEPS of boldness… STEPS of faith… It’s all in the first step.