Thanks for checking in on us! Everyone has a story to tell and we want to take a few moments to share ours with you. We want to let you in on who we are and what we are all about

I was born in St. Louis, Missouri and Darla was born in Jefferson City, Missouri. We both went to Jefferson City High School, home of the Jaybirds baby! I am 1 of 5, born into a family of ministers and musicians, it’s in the blood. I’m a classic preacher’s kid and have been around church all my life. Except for a few of my teenage years. Not sure where I was then. But wherever it was that’s where I met my wife.

Darla wasn’t raised in church but attended on major holidays. Sound familiar to anybody? She began her own Christ journey at the age of 21 years old. I began mine at 22. In 1995 we said “I do”.

I got my minister’s license at 24 yrs old and we packed up and went to Oklahoma City where we hopped right into the adventures of full time youth ministry. Our OKC adventures weren’t just behind the doors of a church either. We out ran an F5 tornado in our Jeep Grand Cherokee. No joke. We were ready to take on the world after that!

We had our first baby, Gavin Rees, about three years after we married. Darla and I accepted a position in the south St. Louis area in 2000. In the 10+ years that we have been in this area, we started a youth ministry, built our own home, opened a coffee house, hosted 2 musical festivals, had our 2nd child (Abby Jade), built a youth facility, flipped our first rehab property, planted a church, and yes, we are still happily married! Whew!

Darla and I LOVE Mexican food! It’s our favorite. We could eat it at least once a day. To let everyone know up front, we are freak fans of the Dallas Cowboys. Also, confessing coffee addicts and have no plan to quit. The first step is admitting we have a problem. But we’re good with that. Our dog, Maximus Desimus Meridius, is named after the Gladiator. Max for short and he thinks he’s our 3rd child. Our kids are the most amazing things we have ever created, and the highlight of our week is our Friday night family pallet. Movies, pizza, and popcorn until we all fall asleep. Love it!

We consider ourselves blessed with more than a hand full of true friendships and a fabulous family to lean on. We love each other, we love God, and we pray we make a difference in the lives of people around us.

To leave you with one parting thought from us, we just want to let you know that if we were stranded on a desert island we would have our Bible and The Godfather DVD collection.

Take care and come visit with us at SOS!