Free serves as the Vice President of Product Development, where he oversees the DCPI user experience, working closely with our leaders around the world to ensure that DCPI materials provide the most effective training to church planters and movement leaders around the world. 

How did God call you to DCPI?

I’ve been involved in helping the church be successful for the past 30 years. My start was moving to Southern California with a small team of people to plant a new church called New Song Community Church. Over the next 11 years I did my part to help it grow and develop into a healthy community where people can serve according to their giftedness and find a place to belong.

This desire for connection and engagement turned into starting a new company with another team of people, with a focus on using technology to engage people in the life of the church. Church Community Builder is a church management software company today serving many thousands of churches around the globe focus on giving, attending, serving, and doing it in the most effective ways. After 19 years from starting the company God showed me it was time to move on to other projects.

I spent the next few years helping non-profits structure their organizations with great business principles to help them scale to the next level. This ultimately led to a conversation with the founder of DCPI where he was both intrigued by the idea of scaling, and challenged me with the vision to plant 5 million churches in the next 12 years. That conversation, some times of intense prayer, were what God used to help me land here.

What is your personal vision statement, or life scripture?

I am all about God-focused organizations putting the right systems and structure in place to help them bring their highest achievement. They should be some of the best run, most effective, most inspiring places to bring people together to make an impact in the world.

What excites you about what God is doing around the world?

I’m amazed about how DCPI has been so effective around the world, helping leaders get trained so that churches are planted. The challenges of different cultures, different languages, different values is daunting, but it is wildly compelling. If there is a small part I can play in helping them increase their effectiveness I want to try.

What miracles have you seen God perform?

I think some of the missed miracles we experience are just partnering with God in the work He asks us to do. I can’t count the number of times I’ve faced situations far beyond my capabilities and simply asking Him for help during those times I experienced the miracle of His power or understanding helping me navigate them. I think it is simply God using ordinary people like me, willing to say ‘yes’, who He uses to get His big list done.

Most influential books or movies:

• Scaling Up – Verne Harnish / instrumental in helping implement great systems into organizations I’ve worked with to help bring growth, accountability, and health
• Essentialism – Greg McKeown / getting the ‘right’ things done, doing more by doing less
• Yes Man – (movie) / being introverted by nature, I’m not quick to say ‘yes’ to new opportunities that might be great. This movie took a fun angle on being more adventurous and saying ‘yes’ to more things in life.