I enjoy getting to spend time with my wife, Mary, being “just dad” to Gentry and Jake and Risa Fontaine, and Papa Jon to my grandson, Carter. I am the Founding Pastor of a Life Connections in Fishers, Indiana and now serve as Senior Ministerial Advisor. In September of 2022 I stepped away from the roll as Lead Pastor and now focus on helping churches and pastors assess their current church environment.

I grew up in Hamilton county and I am a 1982 graduate of Noblesville High School, which gave me common sense and helps me relate to ordinary people and families. My studies took me to IUPUI and Jackson College of Ministries where I received my degree in Biblical Studies. My work life includes stints at McDonald’s, self ownership of a vegetable stand, JC Penney, landscape design, and dorm supervisor for Jackson College of Ministries.

Beginning in 1991, I invested 15 years in preparing students at Indiana Bible College for ministry. In addition I handled the marketing, traveled throughout the U.S. recruiting students, and spoke at various venues. On campus I poured my passion into students through teaching multiple classes. My focus was helping students gain a relational understanding of the Bible, developing their relationship with God, teaching them to seek after God’s Spirit, and the value and importance of having a daily prayer life.

It was also in 1991 that I fell madly in love with Mary Odum; a proud resident of Connecticut, graduate of Christian Life College in California, who worked for the Tupelo Children’s Mansion in Mississippi. We married in 1992 and 30 years later we are still madly in love! We added Gentry to our lives in 1996, Risa to our family in 1998, and moved to Fishers, Indiana in 2001.

The move to a Fishers was a defining moment our lives. In 2002 we participated in a neighborhood garage sale, which launched a Bible study, culminating in the founding of Life Connections Church. From it’s organic start, we watched it grow from a set up – break down church of 50, to a campus that was built in 2009 that would seat over 300 people. In 2019 Phase 2 of the campus was completed which increased our seating to 500, added high end A/V, and expanded the size of our educational department.

My life’s focus is to know God personally and to see a move of His Spirit that changes our culture, community. In my personal life I enjoy time with my wife, kids, and grandson and relax by playing golf, pickle ball, biking, spending time in my back yard, reading and writing.