Michael has been a part of the Emmanuel family for many years. He was 6 years old when his family moved to Billings and began attending. A couple of years later he was saved while in children’s church and baptized. After attending college in Missouri, he followed God’s leading to serve as a Journeyman missionary in the Canary Islands, Spain, for 2 years.
Pastor Michael attended Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, NC, and graduated with a Masters of Divinity. More importantly, that is where he met his wife, Christina. They have been married for 16 years and have two boys, Jack (9) and David (7).
Michael came on staff at Emmanuel in 2011 as the Children’s Pastor. In 2019 he took on a new role as the NextGen Pastor, where he oversees ministry from nursery to young adults. He is amazed and thankful for the opportunity to serve at Emmanuel and is passionate to help the next generation know and become faithful followers of Jesus.
In his free time, he enjoys hunting, fishing and hiking. He is an unashamed and vocal fan of soccer, “the beautiful game.” He has also been known to wear flip-flops for 8 months of the year.
Read this introduction to the next 21 days and come back tomorrow for day one! If you prefer to receive a daily text containing a link to the devotions, click here for instructions.
If you prefer, you can download the entire 21-day devotion booklet here.
Introduction
I am a huge soccer fan. I started playing soccer when I was 5 and played all the way through college and some in Spain. I’ve set alarms to wake myself up at 2AM so I could watch World Cup games live, even when I could have recorded them for later. One of my most fun memories is flying to Barcelona to watch
my favorite team, FC Barcelona, play against Valencia. (If you’d like to see why I love soccer so much, watch this short video clip.)
Because I enjoy soccer so much, I also love introducing other people to it as well. I’ve coached U6 club soccer for kids to competitive high school teams. I make my kids watch games and highlights with me. I talk about it, probably too much. I haven’t made anyone else get up at 2AM to watch a game with me. Yet.
There is something else even more important than soccer though. Something that is more valuable and eternal in nature. And that is knowing Jesus, God’s Son, who came from heaven to live among us and point us to God. He healed the sick, controlled nature with simple words, raised people from the dead and taught us about the kingdom of God. He took our place, dying on a cross, so that we could be rescued from our sin and restored to God’s family. Then he showed he was right and true by coming back to life on the third day and ascending to heaven. Is there anything better?
My hope and prayer is that you have this relationship with Jesus, and that you are such a “fan” that you want to share it with others. This 21 Day devotional is a little different in that it has been written specifically for you to share with your kids. My goal in writing this is to help you show them your passion for Jesus by leading them to know him better. There are some interactive parts to it to help you engage your kids in the discussion and the language is pretty simple. There is no better or more effective influence on your child’s faith than you living and sharing your own faith. I pray that this is the start of an important, new rhythm for your family.