Responsibilities: I serve Life Church by leading in the areas of preaching and vision and Renal serves on the hospitality team.
Family: Renal and I have two adult children: Ariana and Ashton.
Hometown: I’ve lived all over the Chicagoland area and spent formative years living in Glendale, AZ and Renal was born in the Philippines.
Education and Experience:
Moody Theological Seminary: Master of Ministry
Moody Bible Institute: BS in Biblical Studies
Life Church Louisville: Lead Pastor, 2018-Present
Fox Valley Church, West Dundee, IL.: Equipping & Small Groups Pastor, 2002-2017
What brought you to Louisville? Renal and I came to Louisville to start a disciple-making movement and come alongside the life-giving churches in the Metro area to tell the story of Jesus. Louisville also gets us closer to our adult children so that we can stay in the mix as parents.
What do you love most about Louisville? Gracie Kentucky, getting anywhere in the Metro area in 20 minutes and the people!
Favorite Movie/TV Show: Star Wars, The LOTR Trilogy, The Office, and The Man Who Knew Too Little.
Favorite Music/Band: I’m into Alternative bands, Classic Rock, Bob Marley & The Wailers, John Mark McMillan and all the 80’s music I grew up with!
Favorite Books: Desiring God by John Piper because it changed my view of God; Convergence by Sam Storms, because it taught me that Word and Spirit play well together; and A Theology of the New Testament by G.A. Ladd because it gave me a framework for the already and not yet’s of the Bible.
Hobbies/Interests: Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, cooking, and coaching on mission and theology.

Prescott “Tex” Erwin

Where Pastor Scott is today is attributable solely to the grace and providence of God. He was reared in a non-Christian home, with all of the brokenness, guilt, and shame that goes with it, but the Lord has shepherded his life, renewed his heart, and continues to transforms his mind. Jesus changes everything!

Scott took his first intentional step toward Jesus as a preteen when he realized he could never be good enough on his own to make up for his sin. He needed a savior — not just to help him, but to change him. His faith was not full-blown, but he was born-again. The Lord has carried Scott through some dark times and taken him to wonderful places he could never before have imagined going: Life Church is one of those places.

One of the most important things God did in Scott’s life was to pair him with Nikki, his wife of 37 years. The Lord continually cultivates their relationship, drawing them closer to Himself and to each other. He has empowered them to minister together for 36 years in a wide variety of roles and settings and blessed them with a family of their own: two sons, a daughter-in-law, and a growing flock of grandchildren! “Grandchildren are the crown of the elderly…” (Proverbs 17:6).

Prior to joining the church planting Catalyst Team that is now Life Church, Scott was a bi-vocational minister and commercial artist for 17 years, and then a full-time pastor for a church in Indiana for 18 years. He prepared for ministry at Campbellsville College (5 years), The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (7 years), and Campbellsville University (2 years). He has been teaching in the School of Theology at Campbellsville University – Louisville since 2017 and believes in life-long learning. He is also Creative Manager and Brand Champion for the University and serves as Senior Designated School Official working with international students from all over the world.

Since he first sensed God’s call to vocational ministry, the Lord has given Scott a passion for His Word. He is a Bible teacher and shares preaching opportunities here with the other elders and pastors.

But at Life Church, Pastor Scott is especially interested in Christian spiritual formation and discipleship through Life Groups, other small groups, and one-on-one. He knows that real transformation only happens in community, so he wants to help people connect and grow. And he’d like to meet you for a beverage or a meal to talk about your next steps!

Charlie Sims

Charlie grew up in Etown Ky, and trusted in Christ as a small child when his mom shared her recent conversion, and told him about the incredible love of Jesus. They were part of a church plant there, and he matured in his relationship with God throughout middle school and high school participating in the youth group whenever he wasn’t playing sports or working.

He came to Louisville as a freshman at UofL to play on the Baseball team back in 2001, and it was there that he met his beautiful bride, Kari, and became invested in Discipleship and Evangelism with Campus Crusade for Christ. College was a massive catalyst for Charlie’s understanding of God’s heart for the lost, and the need within the church to make Jesus Lord, rather than simply living as a Christian on Sundays. He and Kari got married on the same day that he graduated in May of 2005, and immediately joined staff with Cru to continue serving at UofL.

They had their son Asa in 2011, and promptly started a CrossFit gym as a means of meeting Louisvill’ians that wouldn’t otherwise ever step foot into a church building.

About the time he sold his gym in 2019, the beginning stages of Life Church were being formed, and with their newly acquired schedule freedom, he and Kari decided to jump into their 2nd church plant together.

Charlie considers serving as an elder at Life Church a privilege. He was content to be a heavily invested lay leader within the body, but when the Lord seemed to lead the leadership toward him as a potential elder, he was eager and ready to serve.