Pastor josh

My story with church didn’t exactly start the way you might expect for someone who would eventually become a lead pastor and plant a church. I’m originally from upstate New York, near Canastota and Syracuse. In 1993, when I was six years old, my family moved to Kernersville, North Carolina. We’ve been here ever since, and I’m proud to call the Triad home. Growing up, my family didn’t have much. Unfortunately, some of my earliest experiences with church weren’t filled with grace. There were times we were made to feel unwelcome because we didn’t have nice enough clothes, didn’t always look the part, or seemed a little too “worldly.” I was the high-energy kid with hair that was sometimes too long and a personality that didn’t fit neatly into what people thought a church kid should look like. Needless to say, I didn’t grow up loving church. In fact, for a long time, I wanted very little to do with church, the people inside it, or the God they claimed to represent.

But somewhere along the way, I discovered something that changed the trajectory of my life: Jesus loved me even when I didn’t fit the mold—and He didn’t have a dress code : ) That realization eventually became a calling. Over the years, I’ve learned that many incredible traditional churches are filled with people who genuinely love Jesus and love others. But my heart has always been especially drawn to people who may never walk through their doors—the skeptical, the overlooked, the messy, the hurting, and those who aren't quite sure they belong in church at all. Before becoming a lead pastor, I served for nearly four years as a children’s pastor. Eventually, I stepped away from full-time ministry to pursue another passion. I opened my own gym and became a professional boxer, spending several years in the fitness and boxing world before returning to full-time ministry as a lead pastor in 2020.

Then came one of the hardest seasons of my life. In 2023, my nearly two-decade marriage started falling apart and ended shortly after. Around the same time, I lost my sister through a long battle with sickness that had us in and out of the hospital for 9 months, along with walking or limping, if you will, through several other painful circumstances in and around my life. There were moments when I genuinely wondered whether my ministry career might be over. Instead, something new was beginning. On August 25, 2024, a group of people gathered for the first interest meeting for what would become Passion Church. In January 2025, Passion officially launched.

In many ways, Passion Church is the church I needed when I was that high-energy kid who didn't think he belonged. It’s built around a conviction that has been woven through my entire story: There should be a church for people who don't think church is for them. AKA Messy People...

And God wasn’t finished writing my personal story either. I met Michelle, we fell in love, and were married in late 2025. Together, we have three incredible kids: Izzi, Jett, and Violet. We love them with our whole hearts—even if having an 18-year-old, a 5-year-old, and a 2-year-old under the same family umbrella can make life a little high-energy from time to time! When I’m not preaching, leading Passion, or spending time with my family, there’s a pretty good chance coffee is involved. I’m also slightly obsessed with sushi, or so people tell me, and depending on who you ask, “slightly” might be doing some heavy lifting in that sentence. It’s been an unexpected, sometimes painful, occasionally crazy journey from the kid who didn't feel welcome in church to becoming the pastor of one.

And I wouldn’t trade the journey for anything. Because at the heart of my life and ministry is the same truth that changed my own life years ago: You don’t have to clean yourself up, dress yourself up, or get your life together before coming to Jesus. There’s room for you here.

Pastor Glenda

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Gabby

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Dalton & Emily

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