Meet Dominic

Dominic was born in Oxford, England. At the age of eight, his family moved to Southern California, making him the awkward, reserved British third-grader trying to fit into a world of surfers and valley girl accents. He soon lost his accent (although he still pronounces ‘tomato’ the British way!) and began a journey of adjusting to a new culture and country. 

Little did Dominic know that a new spiritual journey was just beginning as well; a journey that would take him deep into the difficult terrain of faith and doubt. Shortly after moving, his family went through a difficult season of testing and breaking. His parents were separated, his dad was struggling with alcohol and living in another town, and his mom was doing her best to raise Dominic and his sister. For a time, it looked like divorce was inevitable. But then, his mother met Jesus. She sent Dominic to his first Christian summer camp. On the last night, a youth pastor stood on a little platform in the woods and shared from his heart. He talked about grace, forgiveness, and the cross. Although Dominic was struggling with doubts about God and questions about why He had allowed so much pain in his family, when the invitation was given, he responded and surrendered his life to Jesus. A few months later, unexpectedly, his father became a Christian and their family slowly began to be put back together. 

Following High School, Dominic began to feel a call into ministry. He spent the first year after graduation in Mexico, working with orphans who had severe disabilities. Then he moved to Vanuatu, considered one of the world’s most primitive countries, where he taught the Bible to future pastors and ministry leaders. After 3 years of living in the jungle, he returned to Oregon and met his wife, Elyssa. He had only been back for a few days (and looked like it too!) A friend introduced them in the lobby of a church, and even though he resembled something from the movie Castaway, she miraculously was interested in him! They struck up a friendship and 3 months later were engaged.

Elyssa and Dominic have now been married for 22 years. They have a vibrant, theater-loving, 17-year-old daughter, Amelia. Married life has been quite the adventure: they first moved to England to teach at a Bible college in York. Then in 2002, they moved to Austria to teach English for major companies. Later that year, they moved to Maui, Hawaii to serve at a church: Calvary Chapel South Maui. After 8 years of pastoring, they returned to Oxford, where Dominic completed his Master’s Degree in Theology at the University of Oxford. In 2013, they started a church in North Carolina, and then in 2014, Dominic became the lead pastor of Westside A Jesus Church in Portland, Oregon and taught as professor of Theology at George Fox University. He is currently working on his PhD at the University of Oxford and teaching at Bayside Santa Rosa. 

Dominic’s deep passion is to help those who are struggling with their faith. In 2019, he published his first book with Thomas Nelson: When Faith Fails, Finding God in the Shadow of Doubt. In it, he recounts his own struggles with doubt, his journey of deconstruction and reconstruction; along with practical ways that doubters can begin to find a deeper, more authentic faith. Since the book was published, he has heard from hundreds of people from around the world who have been impacted and encouraged.

Doubt is a vital, urgent issue for the church to address. In 2023, two-thirds of Christians now say they struggle with doubt on a regular basis. Twenty-six percent claim to have no faith (a number that is quickly rising each year), and Gen Z is considered the least Christian generation in our nation’s history. We are facing an epidemic of unbelief. Dominic believes that now is the time to engage with these issues. Now is the time to have honest, thoughtful conversations about what faith and doubt are, what the Bible really says about them, and to help resource the church to engage with the pressing cultural questions that is fueling disbelief. 

That is why Dominic is launching Pursuing Faith: a ministry devoted to equipping people to navigate issues around faith, doubt, and apologetics. We’re so grateful for your partnership, and we’re so excited to see how God uses this ministry to reach people around the world!