The People's Church

Pastor Chris accepted Christ at an evangelistic rally at the age of six. He grew up in New Jersey, USA in a Christian home and in Christian education. In his pre-teen years, he began to progressively stray from the Lord, pursuing self-satisfaction and desire.

"I knew God wanted me in ministry, but I was too interested in serving myself. God worked through unique circumstances to draw me back to Himself. In October, 1986, I was involved in a very serious auto accident. As a result of my part in that accident and the injuries to another person, I was charged with "Assault by Auto" and was sentenced to eighteen months in prison. After two weeks of trying to work my way out of my predicament, I fully surrendered my life to serve the Lord.

I spent six months in prison and three in a half-way house. These were some of the richest months in my life spiritually. I enjoyed the time I had to study God’s Word and witness to other inmates. In reality, it was only a traumatic experience in the first two weeks. After that, when I gave my heart to the Lord, I had peace and confidence." After Chris’s release, he went to Word of Life Bible Institute in Schroon Lake, New York.

Pastor Chris’ wife, Andrea (nee Albury) was born in the Bahamas. She was led to the Lord by her parents at the age of 12. As a teen, she grew closer to the Lord as a result of involvement with the youth group at Calvary Bible Church, Nassau, Bahamas where she dedicated her life to serve Him. Upon graduation from high school, she attended also attended Word of Life Bible Institute. "My years at Word of Life were a tremendous time of growth as I learned the importance of a quiet time and was stretched through ministry."

Chris and Andrea met at Word of Life in 1988. "We learned a great deal about the importance of personal discipline and spiritual disciplines at Word of Life Bible Institute. We also grew in our passion to see others grow and lead them to maturity."

Chris and Andrea were married in 1990 and continued their training and ministry together. Chris served as Youth Pastor at Grace Bible Church in Barrington, New Jersey from 1990 to 1994 while attending Philadelphia College of Bible. These were important years of learning to trust God for the busyness of a very active ministry and full-time school. "We appreciate the lessons we learned about relying on the Holy Spirit to produce growth and the need to stay vitally linked to Jesus."

In 1994, Chris graduated from Philadelphia Biblical University with a degree in Bible, Pastoral Ministries, and Missions and shortly after, an ordination counsel of local church ministers and Bible college professors ordained Chris to ministry.

At this time, God led Chris and Andrea into missions. "Our learning to trust God and abide in Christ continued as we followed the Lord into missions. Toward the end of Chris’s years at PCB, the Lord deeply laid on our hearts the profoundness of His eternal mission to bring glory to himself. It is this passion to mirror the character of God along with a recognition of the great need that filled us with a desire to be involved in missions. We applied to a mission agency, went to candidate school in 1994, and were appointed to go to Dominica, West Indies."

God graciously provided their needed support within eighteen months. They arrived in Dominica in March 1996. "We faced trial when we had to return to the States in November, 1996 to deal with immigration conflicts. The trial seemed to expand as we found we would have to remain in the States until May 1997.

Then, as difficulties escalated in Dominica, and under the counsel of our two sending churches, we came to the point of resigning from the mission agency."

In 1997, Allan Lee, Pastor of Calvary Bible Church in Nassau, Bahamas and President of Teleios Ministries asked Chris and Andrea to come to Nassau to help establish Teleios Theological Training Institute. They joined Teleios Ministries in January 1998. Chris served for over 6 years as Dean and Instructor at Teleios Theological Training Institute.

While serving at TTTI, Chris also served in various teaching capacities at Calvary Bible Church where he also served as a Mini-Church Pastor and has ministered as a guest speaker at various churches, seminars, conferences, and government services.

In late 2003, God began to move Chris and Andrea into a new phase of ministry. "I really felt like something was missing. I couldn’t put my finger on it and so determined to go through a 30 day fast while going through The Purpose Driven Life. God showed me it was time to move into pastoral ministry where my personal ministry gifts and passions could be invested more effectively."

Chris and Andrea began seeking God’s direction for future ministry in a local church. God uniquely brought Chris and Andrea and the leaders of The People’s Church together. Chris was called to The People’s Church and was installed on July 25, 2004. Chris recalls, "It is amazing how God orchestrated the circumstances to bring us to The People’s Church. There is no doubt that this is where God wants us!"

Chris and Andrea have now enjoyed 18 years of marriage together and are the parents of a daughter Ashley, born July 11, 1994 and a son, Jared, born January 12, 1997. "We thank God for the joy and demonstration of His glory He has shown us through our children."