John and Janie first met in January 1986 on the campus of Belmont University and married in September of the same year. After several years in the music business, they answered the call to full-time ministry at Bethel World Outreach Church in Brentwood, TN. In 1999, along with a team of three other couples, they raised support and moved their three small children to the nation of New Zealand as missionaries with Every Nation Churches & Ministries.
In December of 2000 their fourth child was born but only lived for one month. They continued working on the mission field until the emotional loss finally caught up to them and they returned to Tennessee in the Fall of 2003 broken and discouraged.
By the Fall of 2007, after struggling with grief and disappointment, John and Janie found their marriage falling apart so they separated and later divorced in October of 2010. Soon after, John realized that this was not the legacy God had for him and his family. At the same time, God spoke to Janie that this was not the end of their story. A few months later, with the counsel and guidance of Pastor Steve Murrell, John and Janie began seeing a professional counselor to pursue healing and restoration. They both began to seek God in a deeper way than they ever had before and spend time together. After a season of individual healing, they knew God was restoring their life together and they were remarried on April 27, 2014! Out of great loss, God has given them a powerful testimony of restoration and hope. Where everything was lost, God has now restored their marriage, their family, and their calling to the nation of New Zealand.
They currently serve on staff at Every Nation Auckland Central and as campus pastors reaching University of Auckland.