Hi, I'm Pete Emhoff and this is my wife Patty. I am grateful that you ended up here at Our Stories Matter. I hope you find something that will encourage you, challenge you, or make you smile. I am passionate about helping others discover freedom in Christ. I have been a follower of Jesus for 36 years, and for the first 25 of them I was taught to focus more on following the rules made up by leaders, who seemed to be more concerned about controlling behavior than teaching others how to recover and live out of their true hearts. That heart that God created and put in each one of us.

Out of my own story of brokenness and living in fear and isolation, I started True Pursuit nine years ago. Our mission is to create safe environments where men can be honest about their brokenness. It is a small, values driven mission that focuses on rescuing the hearts of men, and leading them to freedom in Christ. I have been in ministry for over 25 years, and I have never been a part of anything like this.

I am not starting this blog to sell myself, or a product. I am not trying to prove that I am an entrepreneur (although I am), nor am I trying to teach you the 5 best practices for a successful career. There is nothing wrong with any of that, as a matter of fact I find many blogs on those topics super helpful. I am starting this blog because I feel like I have something to offer to others through sharing parts of my own journey.

Through vulnerability, honesty, and hopefully a little humor, I hope to encourage others through my story. I spent the majority of my life running from my story. I was horrified that if others knew who I really was (not the poser that I let them see), they would reject, judge and condemn me. What I have learned over many years of ministering to men in crisis is that we all think that we are the only ones who struggle with our brokenness, or can't seem to get our act together. Because there are so few safe places to go with our stuff we stay isolated, and therefore in a cycle of shame. That was my story, and while I believe that we will not be totally transformed until Jesus returns, I also believe that there is so much more transformation for us now than most of us have been led to believe.

My hope is, that through me telling parts of my own story, that you will realize just how much "our stories really matter."