Joel grew up in western Michigan. He attended college in Missouri, seminary at Gordon Conwell, and grad school at Chicago Theological Seminary and Master of Divinity degree from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary.  He served as Chaplain to Trinity College in Deerfield, IL and Westmont College in Santa Barbara, CA.  He was responsible for planting a church on northshore of Boston in 80s and in west Michigan in 90s.  After planting churches he took on senior pastoral roles at Hillside Covenant Church in Walnut Creek, CA, and Harbert Community Church in west Michigan before coming to Bethany in the summer of 2008.  

Joel and his wife Victoria have two daughters, one in Germany and one at Northwestern University and Victoria is a medical social worker.  In their spare time they love cross country skiing, cycling, and windsurfing.