A few years ago, we found ourselves in a season of transition. Leadership was shifting, our roles were uncertain, and God kept drawing us to a single verse:

“See, I am doing a new thing… I am making a way in the wilderness.” —Isaiah 43:19

We didn’t know what it meant—until the dreams began. In them, Niki had a baby. One she carried. One she birthed. One we adopted. Though she couldn’t physically have children, God was speaking: He was birthing something new.

We started knocking on doors, looking for what He was preparing—and then, in 2019, we met Pastor Sam from Lighthouse Church in Ireland. Over breakfast, he shared that less than 1% of Ireland identified as Christian. A once missionary-sending nation was now considered pre-Christian.

We were stunned—and stirred. A calling was born that day.

Though our trip was delayed, the burden never left. In 2022, we finally set foot in Ireland. We met the Lighthouse family, saw the need, and felt the call deepen: we were to support and resource those spreading the gospel across Ireland.

Then came an invitation to help launch Lighthouse’s third campus. But as we prepared, we faced deep personal loss and health challenges. A dream from God reminded me to “get out of the way”—that this was His mission. The next day, I was hospitalized. Even my doctor said, “Don’t go.”

But we did.

In 2023, we returned to Ireland and helped launch Lighthouse Dundalk. We saw God move—150 people on launch Sunday, salvations, recommitments, next steps. A little boy named Eli showed up every week, his joy growing. We were watching new life take root.

Then, over breakfast with the pastors, someone said, “It’s like having a baby.” In that moment, I remembered those dreams from years ago. We were living them—right there in a coffee shop in Dundalk.

Leaving was hard. It still is. But we know this: the calling continues.

Through our nonprofit, we now equip pastors and churches across Ireland to spread the gospel, strengthen communities, and spark lasting transformation. What began as a whisper in the wilderness is now a movement—and the best is still ahead.