The Resurrection of a Shelved Dream

​It is easy to get comfortable in the predictable rhythms of daily life. We fall into corporate routines, manage our local responsibilities, and look at global needs through the detached lens of a screen. We convince ourselves that certain chapters of our lives are permanently closed, safely tucked away in the past.

But every once in a while, a door opens that reminds you that old dreams don't always die. Sometimes, they just sleep.

Tomorrow, I am stepping onto a flight bound for Kigali, Rwanda. I will be spending three weeks on the ground—first in the classrooms of an urban theological campus, and then on the red dirt clay roads of remote rural villages. On paper, I am going to teach. But in reality, I am going to heal a piece of my own story.

The Foundation of the Calling

To understand what this trip means to me, you have to go back to Labor Day 1995. That was the day I was baptized, gave my life to Jesus Christ, and began a walk that would completely redefine my existence.

Shortly after, I packed up and moved to Dallas to throw myself into ministry preparation. I enrolled in an intense, grueling 96-hour theological training program at the Center for Christian Education—a satellite school of Abilene Christian University—while simultaneously working a full-time internship at a local church.

From there, I moved to the main ACU campus in Abilene, eventually earning my Bachelor of Arts in Christian Ministry. During those years, I wasn't just a student; I was carrying the weight of serving as the senior pastor for a local congregation. Desiring to go deeper, I moved back to New England and entered the Master of Divinity program at the Boston University School of Theology.

But life rarely follows a straight line. I never finished that M.Div. The cumulative weight of pastoral ministry, expectations, and life transitions eventually led to severe burnout. I made the painful decision to step away from full-time ministry and transitioned into the business world.

I packed up my mission gear. My last mission trips—three life-changing journeys to Lithuania and one to Japan—all happened back before the turn of the millennium. By the time I step onto the tarmac in Kigali, it will have been twenty-six years since I last served on a global mission field, and twenty-three years since I last stood before a flock as their pastor.

The Spark at Deerfield Bible Church

For over two decades, I convinced myself that my season for deep spiritual leadership was over. But God has a beautiful, sometimes disruptive way of rewriting our conclusions.

Last summer, my family and I began attending Deerfield Bible Church. Almost instantly, God began to stir my heart in a way I hadn't felt in decades. Over the last year, as I've plugged in and gotten more involved, those old embers of ministry began to spark. The desire to give back, to minister, and to pour into leaders never truly evaporated—it was just waiting for the right season.

So, when the opportunity arose to join Frank Reynolds and Scott McClimans on this trip to Rwanda, I didn't even have to think about it. My heart instantly said yes.

The Legacy and the Classroom Call

My connection to this journey travels through Frank, a longtime New England pastor who founded Rwanda Challenge back in 2010 with a simple conviction: healthy communities need healthy churches, and healthy churches need trained leaders. Now, a beautiful transition is happening as Scott McClimans prepares to step into the role of Director, carrying Frank’s incredible legacy forward.

What makes our timing so critical is the sheer urgency of what is happening on the ground. In 2018, the Rwandan government mandated that all local pastors must obtain an accredited theological degree to legally keep their churches open. This threw thousands of faithful, grassroots community pastors into an existential crisis.

To save these churches from locking their doors, Rwanda Challenge partnered with Mid-Atlantic Christian University (MACU) to build an accredited, sustainable degree campus right in the heart of Kigali’s Kimironko neighborhood.

For ten days, Frank, Scott, and I will be working side-by-side, teaching intensive leadership structures and organizational health to cohorts of these local church leaders. I am incredibly honored to help Scott as he steps into this vital mantle, but I am equally awe-struck by the realization that I am finally getting to fulfill my old dream of training seminarians. The venue just looks a little different than the one I imagined twenty-five years ago.

Into the Hills

And the story doesn't even end when the classroom chalk is put away. After those ten intense days, Frank and Scott will head home, and my trip will shift gears entirely.

For the final leg of the journey, I will be traveling deep into remote, rural villages alongside Bishop Theophile Rugubira of the Harvest Christian Church. Together, we’ll be leaving the pavement of the capital behind to visit grassroots, church-supported orphanages tucked away in the hills—places where the local church is the literal lifeline for the most vulnerable children in the country.

A Heart of Gratitude

As I look at my open suitcase and the stacks of curriculum on my desk, I am overwhelmed by a profound sense of gratitude. I am intensely humbled that God would reach back into my story, dust off a dream I thought was dead, and invite me to do work this important, meaningful, and exciting.

Over the next three weeks, I want to take you along on this journey with me. I'll be sharing updates from the bustling markets of Kigali to the quiet terraced hillsides of the countryside.

The bags are packed. The curriculum is ready. More than anything, my heart is wide open. Next stop: Rwanda.