Joe was born on September 28, 1949 and grew up in the Low Country of South Carolina.  He finished Estill High in 1967, The Citadel in 1971, and Sewanee in 1978.  Tina was born on August 30, 1949 and grew up in Lake Charles, LA.  She finished Lake Charles High in 1967 and Converse College in 1971.

We were married on June 18, 1971 and have 5 girls: Marie Jones, married to Paul, and they have 3 daughters (Sarah Catherine, Avery, and Merritt) and live in Sumter, SC; Kerry Berris, married to Daniel, and they have 2 boys (Isaiah and Ethan) and live in Ipswich, which is on the outskirts of Brisbane, Australia; Stacey Fua, is married to Simon, and they have a daughter Taimane.  They are on the Island Breeze-Sydney YWAM staff and live in Plumpton near Sydney, Australia; Ansley is married to Brooks Whiteside and they live and work in Columbia, SC: and Abney is at the Island Breeze-Sydney YWAM base at a Discipleship Training School (DTS) and will begin the School of Worshipping Warriors in July, 2011.

After seminary, we went to St. Christopher’s in Sumter, SC which is in the Diocese of South Carolina.  It was while we were at St. Christopher’s that we became interested in the renewal movement that was going throughout the Church.  We became involved in Cursillo (a renewal movement in liturgical churches), Kairos (a prison ministry), the Charismatic Renewal movement which crosses over all kinds of denominational lines, the Healing Ministry through Francis & Judith McNutt and World Missions while we were at St. Christopher’s. 

It was during these years at St. Christopher’s that we learned about The Episcopal Church Missionary Community (ECMC) with Walter and Louis Hannum, the South American Missionary Society (SAMS) when it was based in North Carolina, Barnabas Ministries with Philip Weeks, The Life in Jesus Community with Phil and Jean Zampino, and the Leadership Academy for New Directions which was an educational program for small churches in small communities sponsored by the Episcopal Church.

In 1986, we were called to The Church of the Holy Spirit in Baton Rouge, Louisiana which is in the Diocese of Louisiana.  The Church of the Holy Spirit had a heart to be involved with people and minister to their needs.  In 1987, the church began a feeding ministry on the church property called Our Father’s Garden, where we raised fruit and vegetables to feed the hungry.  We gave our produce to The Sister’s of Charity that had a convent in down town Baton Rouge.  Also in 1987, the church adopted a missionary family, Doug and Cheryl Hicks, who were with the Episcopal World Mission (EWM) and stationed in the Solomon Islands.

1989 was a critical year for the Church of the Holy Spirit and for us.  It was during this year that Foreign Missions became a reality and a way of life.  Joe went to the Philippines with Phil Weeks for the month of January.  In May, Mike Flynn, came to Holy Spirit for a Power Ministry Conference.  After that conference, the Lord began sending us out with members of Holy Spirit to churches throughout the United States and the world.  The church did short term missions for encouragement, teaching, and healing in Louisiana, Texas, Florida, Colorado, New York, Maryland, and Wisconsin.  We went to various countries; Puerto Rico, Madagascar, Costa Rica, Honduras, Wales, Australia, Sudan and Uganda.

Since 1994, we have led different mission trips to Honduras, working with Lloyd Allen, who is the present Bishop of Honduras.  We have been involved with Vacation Bible Schools, Teaching Missions, Medical Missions, and Construction Missions.  In October 1998, the month that Mitch hit Honduras, Joe founded Lloyd’s Angels which is a network of people, churches, and organizations that were helping Lloyd in and around the Tegucigalpa area.  This group has increased now that Lloyd is Bishop and has oversight of all Honduras and is being expanded to form Anglican Honduras Hope.

We became Oblates of a Benedictine Community, Life In Jesus, near Libertytown, MD in the mid 90’s.

Over the past 25 years, Holy Spirit Church has helped to support missionaries in the Solomon Islands, China, Costa Rica, Honduras, Guatemala, Chili, Peru, Bolivia, Thailand, Kenya, Uganda, Sudan, Israel, Nepal, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Pakistan, Canada, Madagascar, Australia, and South Africa.  We have had the privilege to network and partner with many brothers and sisters in the mission field.

In 2008, Joe took early retirement in order that he and Tina could be available to Bishop Lloyd Allen in Honduras when needed and also available to the Church at large in order to be where the Lord needs us to be for Him.  We are part of the Society of Missionaries and Senders (SAMS-USA).  While in the states, we live in Sumter, South Carolina.