Dave serves as the pastor of First Baptist Church of Long Beach. He and Amanda have been married for 25 years. They have come to see that what makes a family is not DNA, but God’s grace woven into everyday life. 

Foster care has shaped their home in deep ways. Over the years, they have fostered four children, adopted two, and today serve by providing respite care, walking with foster families, and offering counsel as they navigate the joys and struggles of this journey. 

This journey also led to PLACED, a book that Dave wrote out of his doctoral research at Liberty University, drawing on the lessons they learned in their own home. It was written to help churches and families understand how to support the foster care community. But more than research, it tells our story: late nights, tearful goodbyes, reunifications that hurt us but healed a child, and our unshakable belief that the church can make a difference.