Who Am I?

I’m a Pennsylvania boy at heart. Born near Pittsburgh, raised outside Philadelphia—which means my sports loyalties are… complicated. I’m a die-hard Steelers fan, can’t stand the Penguins, and spent the ‘70s and ‘80s completely swept up in Flyers fever.

When I was 15, I heard something that was fantastic—even absurd. God, the Creator, became a human being. His name was and is Jesus. The story gets even more bazaar; Jesus gives up his life for sinful man, taking upon himself his own required just punishment in our place. Growing up in a home where faith wasn’t really part of the conversation, this was brand new to me. After a couple of weeks of mulling it over, I came to believe that it was not absurd but that it was the greatest story ever told. So, one evening, alone in my bedroom, I decided to talk with my Creator—no scripts, no church service, just Jesus and myself. I told Him I believed, and that I wanted to follow Him. I didn’t even know what questions to ask, let alone have answers, but that night began a real relationship with Jesus Christ.

At 20, I sensed God calling me into pastoral ministry, and that calling has taken me places I never imagined. I’ve served as a youth pastor in Pennsylvania, spent ten years in the western Pacific as a missionary pastor and theology teacher, worked on staff at a Vineyard church in Texas, completed a chaplaincy residency in Houston hospitals, and worked with a media ministry whose partners reached unreached people groups around the globe.

Now, I’m in a new chapter—writing. My hope is that the words I put on the page will encourage, challenge, and point people toward the One who has been faithful through every page of my story. Lasting change is an essential piece of God’s transforming work in the believer’s life. I’ll share my story, piece by piece. I invite you to do the same. Thanks for reading.

—R. R. Watt