Joel Engman

The truth is I squirm a little when people in public ask me what I do? When I say Pastor you probably already have some formed ideas about who I am.

I tend to surprise people though.

I really relate to people who say they are 'spiritual but not religious.' I might be one of the least religious Pastors you might ever meet. Awhile back I was having a drink (yes I drink and even consider myself a bit of a beer & wine aficionado) with a friend who looked at me and said 'You know Joel...I would go to your church!' That tends to be the response I get from people I know. I don't pretend to have all the answers. I ask just as many questions as I give answers and love to have meaningful conversations about life, spirituality, love, human nature, and faith with whomever I find across the table from me (hopefully enjoying something tasty)!

I love to go to Cleveland Indians games, watch the Browns, or cheer on the University of Akron Zips! I have been married to my wife Emily since 2005 and welcomed our daughter Jubilee into the world in April, 2013. I have 2 dogs (a golden doodle we adopted in 2009 and a mixed breed loyal old dog that I inherited from my mother-in-law). My wife and I love to travel (in 2012 we made our first overseas trip to Europe).

Emily and I are also licensed foster parents. In 2011 we began caring for a sibling group of 6 kids, which we did for 18 months! It was a crazy wonderful time! We currently have another sibling group living with us - it keeps us busy but we wouldn't trade it for anything.