BRAD'S BIO
I was born in Lexington, Kentucky. It was at the age of 4 that I truly exhibited the ‘faith of a child’ and experienced true grace by accepting Christ as my personal Savior. I moved to Quebec when I was 11 years old as a missionary kid of parents who loved the Lord and wished to see His Word reach "the ends of the earth". I spent my teenage years on the South Shore of Montreal where I remained until the age of 18, at which time I decided to attend the Word of Life Bible Institute in upstate New York.
The years between 1999 and 2005 proved to be formative years in my life. During that time I married Melissa my high school sweetheart in 2001, completed my undergraduate work in Pastoral Studies at Lancaster Bible College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania in 2002, and started my graduate work through correspondence at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, which I completed in the Fall of 2008. Prior to my enrollment at Lancaster Bible College and during those ‘formative years’ I felt an extreme burden for full-time ministry but nowhere in all my plans did that ministry include Montreal. God had other plans.
My intentions were to become a Youth Pastor or Associate Pastor somewhere in the New England area so my wife and I could be closer to family. As time went on, I realized that there was a definite need for churches in the U.S., but it seemd that there were too many workers. What got me thinking about coming to Montreal was great counsel from those close to me and a great degree of personal time with the Lord as I prayed seeking God’s wisdom and poured through His Word. One such time was when I read through Romans 15:20, where Paul talks about going to preach the Gospel where Christ did not go. I knew God was tugging on my heart to go back to the place I grew up, and felt the thrill of establishing a ministry in an unevangelized area such as Montreal. After all, my wife and I knew the language, the culture, and the need was so great. It was evident that God wanted my wife and I there.
It was in July of 2005 that I took on the full-time pastorate at Grace Church of Lasalle and haven't looked back for even a second. Since then God has blessed Melissa and I with Lucas, our beautiful and energetic son, as well as a regularly renewed joy at Grace Church and a constant passion for Montreal. For me, Grace Church is not only a fellowship of wonderful reproducing disciples of Christ and my second home, but also a beacon of light that reflects the very grace of God that our name suggests.
