Mike

About Mike

Born in western New York, his blue collar roots are evident in the relentless pursuit of his passion: Christian worship.

While school aged, Mike had participated in all the concert bands that were made available to him. Saxophones were his chosen instrument and he was active in marching, concert and jazz band through all 4 years of high school. Mike even had the honor of being selected to his the high school all-county band! 

Following high school and during an US Army enlistment, Mike had the blessing of being brought into the family of Christian believers! 

Upon leaving the Army Mike returned to the classroom to receive a bachelor’s degree in electronics engineering technologies. That education lends itself quite well to Mike’s current endeavors as an electric guitar player!  

Blessed beyond belief again, Mike was invited to participate in worship music ministry while attending Spring Hills Baptist Church in Granville, Ohio. However, it is worth noting that Mike was not successful in his first attempt to join the Spring Hill’s praise team! (In fact, his first audition was an “epic fail”!) Mike then found it necessary to determine if he was willing to put forth the effort, to improve his abilities and knowledge, and to follow the calling that he had. Mike’s second audition went a fair amount better thanks to dedication and a willingness to not give up. These days Mike continually refers to worship leading as “doing what he was born to do.”

However, truly new to being a member of a worship team while at Spring Hills, Mike still needed to develop many requisite skills while on the job. After several years of valuable mentoring and nurturing by a fantastic team of Christian musicians, Mike was able to build a modest comfort level with his own skillsets and talents. The current ministry of Footprints of Jesus is modeled from the development tract Mike was able to take while at Spring Hills Baptist Church.

Mike’s family relocated to Mount Vernon, Ohio in 2005 and the Vineyard Church of Knox County became his new spiritual home for 14 wonderful years. He had immediately joined the worship team and was an active member of that program until 2019 when he and his family made the switch to a new church home: Mount Vernon First Church of the Nazarene where he is currently an active member of the worship program.

Mike plays all styles of guitar, most notably lead electric but enjoys every style of guitar used for contemporary worship. Additionally, he has also been a part of two different worship bands that were based out of central Ohio: ‘At the Well’ and ‘All for One’. His combined experience in both of those groups totaled almost 20 years! Both groups specialized in leading worship outside of traditional church environments, boldly taking contemporary worship out into the streets.

Mike has also managed to retain his skills as a saxophonist and will occasionally be found playing a midi wind controller that has been keyed to perform like a saxophone! 

Mike’s other interests include camping, paddling, cycling, and maintaining his classic muscle car.