Pastor Jim has been in full time ministry since 1998. Prior to 1998, he served as a police officer for 10 years and played professional football for 4 years. His first stop in full time ministry was with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. His start with FCA was in Fairfax County, Virginia and then moved to Chesapeake Virginia where he served as an Area Director. In 2002, Jim and family relocated to Greensboro, NC to become the youth pastor at Cornerstone Baptist Church. While serving there, he took on several other important roles such as Men’s Ministry Leader and Sport’s Ministry; however, his passion has always been and still is evangelism and discipleship. In 2013, Pastor Jim and six of his closest friends began praying together asking God for direction in ministry. Those prayers led to the beginnings of Awaken Church. In January of 2014, Awaken Church had its first official service. Pastor Jim emphatically preaches that our faith in Jesus Christ is anchored in the Relationship that we have with Christ. He frequently says, “RELATIONSHIPS not religion”. On a personal note, Pastor Jim has been married to his best friend, Kim Scott for more than 40 years. They have four wonderful children, Amber (Husband – Brian), Adam (wife – Katie), Ashley (husband – Justin ), and Austin (still looking). They also have 5 grandchildren – Winston, Jamison, Addison, Annie and Brooks. Besides loving to preach and teach the Good News, Pastor Jim enjoys family time and Clemson football.