What can we tell you about our pastor?

Well, one thing is that he and his wife Marilyn are real people who don't pretend to be someone they are not. Pastor Jeff and Marilyn married in 1980, have two children and a son in-law they are quite proud of and they also have two of the cutest grandchildren you'll ever find.

Growing up in southern California, in 1998 Pastor Jeff & Marilyn relocated to New England and have been here ever since.

Pastor Jeff decided tot follow Jesus at age 17, but found that years later his relationship with Christ had grown cold. “When we were first married, and as our children came along, I relied heavily on the Lord to meet our needs—but when I began to want more than what the Lord said I needed—I pursued wealth and all the world had to offer.”

Pursuing wealth was something Pastor Jeff did fairly well—soon his income shot up to more than $200K a year. “Not bad for a high school diploma” he laughs, but he’s the first to tell you that success came at a price as he strayed from daily living his life in a way that pleased God. “I came close to loosing my soul,” he says.

It was in the midst of success that Pastor Jeff says “God finally got my attention when two LA County Sheriff knocked on our door with the news a woman had ran a stop sign. Our 14 year old daughter was being transported by helicopter to one hospital while our 17 year old son was in a helicopter heading to another.” Pastor Jeff continues, “We were told, 'Your son will not make it through the night--go and see him.'

Their daughter returned home a few days after the accident, but their son remained in a coma. “My son’s ICU room became for me the belly of Jonah’s great fish. The smell…strange cadence of the respirator…dim lights…all of these reminded me of being inside a whale. I saw that God sent Jonah that big ole’ fish to swallow him whole—so he’d be alone awhile and reflect on his life a bit. That ICU room had the very same affect on me.”

In that ICU Jeff says, “I decided to turn back to and follow Jesus again.”

By the grace of God, their son walked away from a treatment center six months after the accident, but before he did, doctors there told Pastor Jeff & Marilyn “When your son leaves here, you need to move to a new city—he’s not the same person he used to be and going back to the same surroundings will be too much for him.” Pastor Jeff remembers “When we heard those words we knew moving would mean leaving my job and that was not possible with a half-a-million dollars of medical bills outstanding. We knew the Lord could make sense of things, so we prayed, and then just a day later I received a call out of the blue asking me to come to a company meeting in Massachusetts. Two days later in the meeting I was asked to move to here. God is faithful!”

“Two years after moving, the company I managed was purchased by a competitor. I saw the writing on the wall.” In November of 2000 Pastor Jeff lost his job, and at that time he says “I looked into the mirror and did not like who I saw, so I just got on my knees and cried out ‘Lord, I’ve messed up the first 38 years of my life selfishly following my desires—I now completely surrender myself to you. My life is yours!”

Since that memorable day of surrender - November of 2000, God led Pastor Jeff & Marilyn to resign from the Catholic Church were they were members. He recounts, "Leaving the Catholic Church was unsettling for Marilyn and me. I'd grown up in the church and Marilyn had been a member for 20 years. Now the Lord was asking us to leave, follow and just go where He led. That kind of change is uncomfortable at times, but our life had become so much about change."

Pastor Jeff will tell you; "Over the past 10 years God has taken my life and turned it upside-down and now it is right-side up."

“Me becoming a Pastor is something I could never have predicted...it's a miracle in itself…but…that’s a story for another day I guess..."

"I now see everything in my life—every joy and struggle has been ordained and used by God to prepare me for this moment. He’s just amazing!” Pastor Jeff Says.

“Life has been a blur since I decided to follow Jesus with everything in me. In November 2003 I became Pastor of New Beginning Fellowship, in 2007 I resigned my job and started my own business so I have more time to serve the members of New Beginning and to serve Jesus...what God has in store for the future I do not know...but I will follow him wherever He leads!"

We invite you to come and meet our Pastor!