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/ˈviːə/ preposition
by way of; through.
From Latin via: a road or way.
Via grows out of a conviction that has laid hold of us over our decades of experience in the church and nonprofit worlds: the demands of ministry are often the greatest enemy of the one, indispensable responsibility of Christian leadership - tending to our own formation.
“The main thing God gets out of your life is not what you accomplish. It’s the person you become.”
Dallas Willard
As pastors, educators, and community developers, we have seen how much people can carry without a place to speak honestly about it or engage in sustained reflection. Leaders become isolated. Teams lose access to fresh perspectives and resources. And those with a desire to grow or explore something new lack the permission and margin to pursue it.
In all these cases, what’s often lacking are spaces and invitations for leaders and teams to be meaningfully companioned in their life and work.
This is why we created Via.
We walk alongside leaders, teams, and communities as they attend to their lives with God, explore important questions together, and explore emerging possibilities. Our starting point is listening—to your story, the particular people and places you serve, and what God may be inviting. We aim to cultivate relationships in which you can speak freely, be met with loving attention, and find the perspective and courage to take a faithful next step.
I’m drawn to the places where a person’s search for God meets the life of a community and the possibilities of mission. I love helping leaders ask the questions underneath the questions, encounter people and perspectives beyond their usual circles, and discern how an emerging possibility might take shape for the sake of others. Listening closely to the particularities of a person or place is an essential part of that work.
Much of my working life has joined local pastoral ministry with theological education and the development of platforms that foster conversation and collaboration. My experience includes co-founding Missio Alliance, developing relationships and resources across Christian traditions, and accompanying leaders and communities through seasons of change. I’m an Anglican priest within Churches for the Sake of Others as well as a member of the Order of the Common Life, where I was trained as a spiritual director. My graduate studies at Fuller Theological Seminary included a master’s degree focused on mission in Western culture and a doctorate in missiology exploring discipleship and formation.
I’m drawn to helping people recognize and respond to God’s calling in the midst of their actual lives. I value careful listening, the wisdom of the Christian tradition, and the practices and relationships that help us grow over time. I especially enjoy helping leaders and teams give a vision a sustainable shape, with rhythms and structures that support the people carrying it. I also have a particular concern for women finding room to inhabit their gifts and callings in ministry.
My background includes cross-cultural missionary service, mobilizing and training missionaries and teams, and accompanying people through vocational discernment. I’m an Anglican priest within Churches for the Sake of Others, where I previously served as Canon for Ordinations and a member of the Order of the Common Life. I hold a Master of Arts in Global Leadership from Fuller Theological Seminary. These experiences continue to shape my attention to the people, cultures, and communities in which a calling unfolds.
We live in Canton, Ohio, where we co-founded and co-pastor Common Life Church. Over the years, we have taught, coached, trained, and developed communities together, bringing complementary gifts of vision and practical organization.
Our work through Via draws on a wider circle of friends, practitioners, and resources. As we get to know you, we may invite others into the conversation or help you connect with a trusted spiritual director or another companion suited to what you are seeking.
We are developing a community of partners & patrons whose generosity can help make this work available regardless of someone’s ability to pay.
Via is an initiative of Canton Abbey.
Tell us a little about where you’re coming from, and we’ll be in touch about what a first conversation could look like.
