Mike (Mr. Eells) and his wife Julie are both Iowa kids. Mike was raised in a home and church that preached "good advice", but not the "good news" of God's Grace. However, at 17 he trusted in Jesus as personal savior after a friend invited him to a high school youth group. There he heard the gospel for the first time. He eventually made a decision for Christ at an annual youth conference in Des Moines, IA. After high school, he attended Emmaus where he met Julie. They have been married for 23 years and have been blessed with 7 children. The youngest are 4 year old twin girls and the oldest are Noah (17) and Abby (15) who work here in the Emmaus kitchen.

After receiving my Bachelors degree in Bible and Theology from Emmaus, Mike attended Trinity Evangelical Divinity school where I received a Master of Divinity and a Master of Theology in Systematic Theology. Following seminary, Mike served for 12 years as a pastor and youth pastor at the Atlantic Gospel Chapel, in Atlantic Iowa. In 2019 my wife and I returned to Dubuque where he serves as the dean and bible teacher for Tri-State Christians School. Mike is also going on in his 7th year as an adjunct professor for Emmaus Global Campus.

Mike thanks God for the little things like a good book, coffee and bow-hunting!

God's remedy to the envy, strife and partisanship in Philippi