Family
Snapshot
- Married to Myndi Helm Lawrence since January, 1997
- Children::
- Bethany, age 9;
- Twins Anna and Katherine, age 7;
- Micah, age 4 (although he's soon to turn 5)
- Currently residing in Shoreview, MN
Personal
Mission
- The calling of God on my life is to shepherd a vibrant community of Christ-followers to grow up into maturity in Christ through intentional Christian discipleship, and to equip the church to engage the world with the good news of God’s Kingdom reign. This mission is accomplished through Biblical preaching and teaching, vision casting, one-on-one discipleship, team mentoring, and equipping leaders to fulfill God’s calling in their life and mission.
Gifts
/ Skills
- Preaching
- Writing
- Vision Casting
- Strategic Thinking
- Relationship Building
- Mentoring
- Discipleship
- Team-oriented shepherd
- Empowering others to lead
Education
- B.A. Texas A&M University, College Station, TX – 1995
- ThM, Dallas Theological Seminary, Dallas, TX – 2001
- MPhil, Jesus College, Cambridge University, Cambridge, England – 2002
- PhD, Jesus College, Cambridge University, Cambridge, England – 2007
Strengths
(from Clifton Strengths Finder assessment)
- Relator
- Strategic
- Developer
- Ideation
- Context
Personal
Character Qualities (others’ perspective of Joel)
- Wise – wisdom beyond his years
- Solid – ordered in his life, his family, a ‘well lived life’
- Approachable – an anchor for people when the world around is feeling unstable
- A thinker – not satisfied with first answers or easy answers
- Presenting information in a way where that people haven’t heard before
