I was born in Columbia, SC in 1974. I am the youngest of three children. My father, Lester, is a retired Lutheran pastor, and my mom, Jonette, is retired from the South Carolina school district, where she served in a variety of capacities in her career. We lived in Newberry, SC until I was 11, at which point my dad accepted a call to a congregation in Lexington, SC. This is where I attended Middle and High School, and the place I called home throughout college. My parents currently live in Gilbert, SC.

My brother, Les, is 3 years older than me and is an accountant. He lives in State College, PA with his wife, Catherine, who is a micro-biologist and teaches in the Food Safety Program at Penn State. They have two children, Andrew and Emily. My sister Wendi is two years older than me and has a degree in Elementary Education, but is currently called to the vocation of stay at home mom. She and her husband, Jack, who is a candy distributor, live in Lexington, SC. They have three children, Thomas; James; and John.

I attended Lenoir-Rhyne College, an ELCA college, in Hickory, NC. I graduated in 1996 with a degree in Elementary Education. After graduation, I worked in the Admissions Office at Lenoir-Rhyne, where I traveled the East Coast recruiting students for the college. Simultaneously, I completed a Masters Degree in Agency/Community Counseling and worked as the youth director at Emmanuel Lutheran Church in Lincolnton, NC.

In 2000, I discerned that I was being called to seminary. I attended Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary in Columbia, SC and graduated in 2004. My first call was to Our Saviour Lutheran Church in Southern Pines, NC. During that time, I was introduced by a friend to a seminarian named Sara Houpt. Sara and I met in March of 2005, dated for two months, and got engaged! We were married March 10, 2006.

Sara is the youngest of three children as well. Sara’s dad, Tom, and her mom, Sandy, are both retired. Sara’s brother Jim now runs the family Security Business, and he lives in Dayton with his wife Lona and their three children, Andrew, Gabby, and Madison. Sara’s other brother, Mike, works for GE and lives in Mason with his wife Susan, who works for P&G, and their son Tyler.

Right before Sara and I got married, I moved back to South Carolina, where I served as an interim teacher of Language Arts for 6-8 grades at Epworth Children’s Home, a residential home funded by the United Methodist Church. In June 2006, I was called to Newberry College (an ELCA College) in Newberry, SC to serve as campus pastor.

Sara graduated from Southern Seminary in May 2008. In early 2008, she was assigned to the Southern Ohio Synod, and we both began interviewing at churches. You called me to serve as your pastor, and Sara has been called to Epiphany Lutheran Church in Centerville, OH. She was ordained on August 24, 2008.

Again, I am thankful to be here and appreciate the warm welcome you have extended to Sara and me. I look forward to journeying faithfully with you in this place and sharing in ministry with you. I trust that together we will discover, proclaim, and live in God’s wonderful and amazing grace!

Peace!

Pastor Todd