Craig’s father abandoned his mother before Craig was born. Craig was raised by his mother until the age of 6 when the alcoholism that plagued her life finally took it. After his mother’s death, Craig was passed back and forth between his aunt and his grandmother who took care of him when there was no one else.
Craig grew up a very angry and insecure young man. He started to do drugs when he was 11 in an effort to numb the pain of an empty and lonely life. He began selling drugs at school in 7th grade after his best friend’s dad introduced him to the possibility. Craig was good at selling drugs and made a lot of money. He thought he had found his purpose in life.
But the more money he made, the emptier he got. When Craig was a senior in high school, he and some friends were getting high one day. Craig asked them if they were happy. They didn’t answer on their own behalf, but said “Aren’t you happy? You should be. You have two cars, two motorcycles, and twenty grand in the bank.” The more they talked about all that he had, the emptier he felt.
One night when Craig was doing LSD, he heard voices in his head telling him to kill himself. So he put a gun to his head and was about to pull the trigger. At that moment, he heard a voice that he had never heard before. It said, “Craig, where are you going?” Right then Craig knew that he could go from a life of “hell on earth” to literal Hell.
So he got down on his knees and said, “Lord, I hate my life. But, if you can do something with my life, then it’s Yours.” And Craig’s life has never been the same. God instantly delivered him from his addiction to drugs and alcohol.
Craig knew there were a lot of hurting kids like him out there, so he started to share his testimony with youth groups in his hometown. Many people knew his reputation as a “hellion”, and came to know Christ as a result of the miraculous changes in his life. Craig shared all that Christ had done for him and told the youth that He could do the same for them if they would trust in Him as their Lord and Savior as they surrender their lives to Him.
From the day he got saved, Craig knew, like the Apostle Paul, that he was to share the Gospel fearlessly.
For 20 years, Craig had the privilege of helping hurting kids like himself as a youth pastor. Since 2002, he has been the senior pastor of COV. He feels incredibly blessed with the opportunity to participate in this work of God by being the founding pastor of Calvary Oro Valley. Craig was blessed with a godly wife, Theresa, who went to be with the Lord in June of 2022 after a long fought battle with cancer. The Lord was gracious to leave him 4 beautiful children with 3 serving alongside in ministry. God is faithful and His promises are true. Craig is a living testimony of God’s grace, mercy and power to redeem.
Craig grew up a very angry and insecure young man. He started to do drugs when he was 11 in an effort to numb the pain of an empty and lonely life. He began selling drugs at school in 7th grade after his best friend’s dad introduced him to the possibility. Craig was good at selling drugs and made a lot of money. He thought he had found his purpose in life.
But the more money he made, the emptier he got. When Craig was a senior in high school, he and some friends were getting high one day. Craig asked them if they were happy. They didn’t answer on their own behalf, but said “Aren’t you happy? You should be. You have two cars, two motorcycles, and twenty grand in the bank.” The more they talked about all that he had, the emptier he felt.
One night when Craig was doing LSD, he heard voices in his head telling him to kill himself. So he put a gun to his head and was about to pull the trigger. At that moment, he heard a voice that he had never heard before. It said, “Craig, where are you going?” Right then Craig knew that he could go from a life of “hell on earth” to literal Hell.
So he got down on his knees and said, “Lord, I hate my life. But, if you can do something with my life, then it’s Yours.” And Craig’s life has never been the same. God instantly delivered him from his addiction to drugs and alcohol.
Craig knew there were a lot of hurting kids like him out there, so he started to share his testimony with youth groups in his hometown. Many people knew his reputation as a “hellion”, and came to know Christ as a result of the miraculous changes in his life. Craig shared all that Christ had done for him and told the youth that He could do the same for them if they would trust in Him as their Lord and Savior as they surrender their lives to Him.
From the day he got saved, Craig knew, like the Apostle Paul, that he was to share the Gospel fearlessly.
For 20 years, Craig had the privilege of helping hurting kids like himself as a youth pastor. Since 2002, he has been the senior pastor of COV. He feels incredibly blessed with the opportunity to participate in this work of God by being the founding pastor of Calvary Oro Valley. Craig was blessed with a godly wife, Theresa, who went to be with the Lord in June of 2022 after a long fought battle with cancer. The Lord was gracious to leave him 4 beautiful children with 3 serving alongside in ministry. God is faithful and His promises are true. Craig is a living testimony of God’s grace, mercy and power to redeem.