I am a former atheist and college philosophy instructor. GOD showed Himself to me during my 20s and 30s, which led to a total breakthrough in Christ. Everything changed in my life at that point. Darkness turned to light; fear turned to joy; confusion turned to peace; hate turned to love.
GOD called me into jail and prison ministry in 2017, and just before our family relocated back to our hometown of Kalamazoo. Before we even completed our move into our new Kalamazoo home, the LORD brought me to the right connections in Kalamazoo, where I was on the jail floor talking to inmates before I even unpacked a box in our home. WOW!
After serving as a chaplain in the jail ministry, I was moved to the Van Buren County Jail, where I was made the Lead Chaplain, all through the heart of the pandemic. It was a miraculous time in jail ministry! In 2022 I returned to Kalamazoo County Jail to serve as the Lead Chaplain, where a year later, KJM was formed.
I have been married to my wife, Amy (Lead Chaplain Amy Grupp), for over 30 years, and we have four children. I enjoy time with my family, academic reading and writing, gardening, discovering new philosophy and theology, and playing the drums. I am a Kalamazoo native, winter is my favorite season (especially very snowy winters). My favorite theologian is Francis of Assisi, I love to write poetry, and my favorite movies are, Francesco (director Michele Soavi), Brother Sun, Sister Moon, and The Gospel of St. Matthew (directed by Pasolini).