Pastor

Pastor Mike was born and raised in New Jersey. He joined the USAF after high school and served overseas for nearly four years. He became a Christian while serving and immediately became active in ministry in the local chapel and amongst his fellow airmen. 

Upon returning to NJ, he got involved in a local church and, again, became active in ministry there. His mentality has been to do anything he could do in the life of the church that would help the church grow. He was involved in numerous things such as sound ministry, street evangelism, singles ministry, and small groups.

He graduated from Valley Forge Christian College in 1995. While attending VFCC, he was involved in numerous ministries, such as playing in a local band (the Somethings), working with Teen Challenge, and working with homeless shelters. He also began preaching in a church in Jersey City, NJ during this time. He would take the trains from a neighboring town to Philadelphia; from Philly to Newark, NJ, and then over to J.C. After preaching on Sunday morning, he would travel back to college the same way. After graduating from VFCC, he moved into the parsonage of the church and began different ministries. Because this was a small congregation, he worked during the week as a house painter.

While he pastored in Jersey City, he met Dina Avila. They were married in 1997 and Dina partners with him in life and ministry. They have three college-age children who also join them in ministry when they are home from school. 

In January of 1998, Mike and Dina moved to Morgan, and he became the assistant pastor of the Morgan Church. He was installed as pastor in 2000 and has pastored our church since. It is his joy to serve God and the people of Morgan and the surrounding communities.    

Pastor Mike often leads worship in our church and is a songwriter. You can find some of his music here.

Pastor Mike is a recent cancer survivor. He was diagnosed with and received treatment for throat cancer in 2019. He is thankful for our congregation’s and his family’s support during this time. He is also grateful to the medical team that was a part of his healing. 

He is happy to say that today, he is cancer-free and joyfully faces the challenges that recovering from throat cancer brings. 

He is currently working on a music project called “Songs of Cancer and Hope”. Proceeds from this project will go to help defray travel costs for local people who are battling cancer. 

More information about this project will follow. 

He looks forward to meeting you!