Leader or not, here we come!

We started this ministry so that we could be honest and vulnerable in encouraging men and women to pursue a life led by God. We believe that the first step in any journey towards impacting others with the Gospel is surrendering to God and being led by Him. As leaders, we apply this principle to an even greater extent, because leading others requires a heart surrendered to God, and a life focused on putting others before ourselves.

We are so excited that you've decided to check out our website and we encourage you to keep scrolling down to learn more about us. For more content, click the articles section or check out our podcast by hitting the Listen tab.

For us, helping even one person surrender their lives and leadership to God's will would be something to rejoice over! If that's you please hit the Get Connected tab to share your story with us. You can also use that tab to send us questions, comments, or encouragement.

VJ Tunkel

Well, I'm pretty camera-shy; so this is the best picture I could find. Anyway, I'm VJ and my life is pretty exciting at the moment. My wife Emily and I have been married since 2015 and are loving being new parents to our young daughter! I work as a music teacher and volunteer as a worship leader, deacon, and missional community leader. No matter what hat I'm wearing, my desire is usually to see God come and change lives (including my own!).

As part of the duo, it's basically my role to be the young guy that is a little hyper, overzealous, and usually running into situations before I realize it. I'm so thankful that Doyle is generous with his time and leads me back to Jesus over and over again as a leader and a follower of Jesus.

Doyle DeGraw

Doyle here! I love to lead people and I find myself leading in so many different capacities. I have had the opportunity to lead my family and my greatest joy is interacting with my adult children and providing leadership/counsel to them with the life challenges they face. I pastor Crossroads Church in Stony Brook and work as a Licensed Mental Health Counselor. I am married to Cathy, my wife of 43+ years and have three adult sons, an adult daughter, and seven grandchildren. I am originally from California but have lived and lead in Ohio, and Michigan as well, serving as a pastor, private school administrator, and bank manager.

Impact on Purpose developed out of a friendship between VJ and I. We serve together on the leadership team at Crossroads Church and through many conversations, we realized that we have a similar vision and passion for leadership. We both believe strongly in generational ministry, which is why we love the unique scope and depth that our podcast presents.

Crossroads Church was launched as a church plant 6+ years ago. This opportunity presented unique challenges to lead a core group of people to grow in relationships while reaching the community around us. As a counselor, I enjoy leading people to self-discovery and greater insight into their identity and empowerment to solve their unique life challenges.