I later received my Masters Degree in Christian Ministry through Liberty University. In 2003 I was blessed to join the staff at Christ Community Church. Over the course of my seventeen years on staff at CCC, I was privileged to serve as the middle school pastor, high school pastor, and do some preaching from time to time. In the summer of 2019, I pursued the opportunity to be the first church planter sent out by CCC to plant Living Branch Church in the Spring of 2020! I married my beautiful wife Kendrah in 2006. She is not only my best friend, but a tremendous partner in ministry, as she supports me so faithfully through the unique journey of church planting. In 2010 through our role as foster care parents, God brought our foster son, Henry, into our lives. In May of 2015, the Lord blessed us with our beautiful daughter, Hadleigh. When I have free time, I love to play golf, travel with my family, fish, run, attend any sporting event possible, hike, and be outdoors. I truly love the church, I love all of the amazing people I have the privilege of engaging with, I love God’s unchanging Word, and I love the opportunity we have to plant Living Branch Church in the Vail community. While ministry has and continues to be a huge part of my life, my prayer is always that my public passion for Christ would never exceed my personal passion for Christ! I count it a great joy to be able to lead this incredible church, made up of incredible people!

My hope is to eventually acquire a Masters of Biblical Studies and Counseling degree.

I attended Christ Community Church through high school where Rob was my youth pastor. After high school, I returned to serve as a high school small group leader, as well as the summer intern during the summer of 2018. During the summer of 2019, I lead short-term mission trips for high school students in both Honduras and Costa Rica. Upon returning to Tucson in August of 2019, Rob invited me to join him in planting Living Branch Church. I love being a part of the LBC family as we serve the Vail Community.

My close friends and family will tell you that I am an avid learner, at times, annoyingly so. I am an explorer at heart. I enjoy reading, listening to music and podcasts (ask me about my headphone collection), and being outdoors.

I love spending time with my wife, Sandra. We enjoy everything from hiking, cooking, movies, playing games or just having quiet time together in our apartment.

I will always prefer mountains over the beach. I attended high school in the Vail School District and later after I graduated I became employed in the district. I have worked in the Vail School District as a preschool teacher for over five years and have a deep passion for children. 

When I heard the mission and vision of LBC, I felt the Lord calling me to join the team! As the Kids' Director for Living Branch Church, I would love to have your child join us! The Bible says in Psalm 127:3 “Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from him” and that is seen everyday. It is truly one of the greatest blessings to watch them grow. My passion is to see children grow in Christ and develop close relationships with each other in a safe and loving environment. Every child is a precious gift and loved by the Lord and my desire is that our team reflects that in all that we do.

Over the past ten years in Tucson, I have seen God do so many amazing things in my life and the lives around me. 

I met my wife Katie in 2015, as we became friends when she started attending UCity Church and coming to watch me play “gigs” around Tucson. As God had plans for more than a friendship, we started dating and were married in January of 2017. (Funny story: Rob and Kendrah have the same anniversary as us). 

I was blessed to become an instant dad to my twin daughters Kinley and Zoe, who are now 11, at the age of four. We have two more daughters, Piper who is five and Falon who is three. 

Katie is a hair stylist in Green Valley at Zeta Hair and Day Spa and some of her hobbies include working out, holy yoga, and having dance parties with the kiddos. Some of my hobbies include working out, anything outdoors, working on trucks, motorcycles, and songwriting. 

Four days after our wedding, we moved to Illinois so Ricky could fulfill his active duty enlistment in the USAF. While in Illinois, we served in our small-town church and continued to grow a passion for connecting people to Jesus. 

We returned to Arizona in July of 2019 and reconnected with our church family at Elements. After much prayer and connecting to the vision and mission of Living Branch Church, we felt led to join the launch team. With continued involvement in leadership and launch team meetings, we are ecstatic to lead the Hospitality Team at LBC! Our desire for this team is simple. 

First, we want to connect with people by lovingly inviting them into the Living Branch family with a “come as you are” culture. Secondly, we hope to assist our new friends as they come on to campus by creating a welcoming and easily accessible environment and experience for everyone. 

Lastly, we hope to help connect people to Jesus by encouraging them to explore and experience the many opportunities that LBC has to offer! We are so excited to grow in community with you and look forward to meeting you soon!

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Nick and I attended Christ Community Church, where we met while serving on the worship & tech teams. In, 2019 we heard the news that Rob was planting a church in Vail. Excited by the opportunity to invest in a community that we both loved, we joined the LBC launch team and have been blessed to see LBC grow over the past few years. 

After spending my college years and early career in medicine & research, I decided I wanted to switch gears and pursue creative work. I have always loved creative projects — when I was a kid, you would often find me drawing or painting. I also enjoy event planning and production media, which blends technology, and creativity in a super fun way. I have served on the tech team at CCC and LBC for many years as a producer, and doing slides & lighting design. 

You will find that I have many interests and chances are good I could surprise you with a story of an adventure. In our free time, Nick and I love to walk through Sabino Canyon or head up Mount Lemmon to be in nature. As a closet-nerd, my hobbies include TV/movies, reading, video games, creative writing, and most recently, learning to play table top RPG games. Nick’s hobbies include playing electric guitar, gaming, and reading. We both love to work out, travel, and spend time with our family and friends.