Where I Came From...

For most people in my life...they know me from one of three backgrounds...a pastor, a roofer, or a "website guy."

I get asked regularly, how did all of that happen? These seem so different...and they are. But to understand it, you'll have to know my story...

I was born into a family where I would become a 5th generation pastor. Now, if you aren't "religious" don't tune me out, I'm not going to start preaching. :)

Though that had a large part to do with how I was raised and one of the professions I chose to go into, what it did as much as anything, it threw me into a room full of performers.

Pastors wear many hats, but they are all performers. Keeping the attention of people for up to an hour is hard work. You have to learn how to communicate, use body language, voice inflection, pauses and humor to relay a message.

This was my life. And I thrived in that environment. I was outgoing, loved people, constantly talking, and always asking questions. And if you've known me for very long, I'm always "performing" with every business I've been a part of. But let's go way back...

Early on in my life, we were pretty poor. My dad was a custom home builder and the economy and a back-stabbing partner caused he and my mom to end up in over 800k in debt. When this happened, I was around 3 years old and my little brother was barely a year old. 

As their testimony goes, they refused to file bankruptcy and it took 11 years, but they paid every penny back, interest in all, to the tune of 2.2 million dollars!

By the time I was in 5th grade, their debts were paid and then I remember having money. Now, most kids that grow up around money are spoiled brats that think they deserve more and are better than everyone else (and I'm sure we had our moments back then), but that's not how Kevin and I roll.

Because my parents had fought so hard to get out of debt, they were on the receiving end of God's grace and their hard work, we had experienced both sides. And I don't really talk about it much, but I think it's a large part of why I find success with people. Because I've been in a poor family, I've been in a "rich" family, and I've rubbed shoulders with powerful people all over the place because of my family.

And you know what I learned? Rich people are not different than the rest of us. I learned that I could talk to them no different than anyone else. I could see through "the stuff" that most people are impressed with to the person they actually were.

I've also seen first hand that stuff doesn't make you happy. I've seen the really rich be miserable and I've seen the really poor enjoy their life more than most.

But more than all of that....my family led me into my relationship with Christ! I've watched God transform lives my entire life! I've seen my parents baptize friends in their swimming pool. It's been unbelievable. And here's what happened to me...

When I was in 9th grade, God put it on my heart to start a Bible study (I know, really cool way to make lots of friends, ha). But I didn't have a clue what I was doing. So I asked my parents if they would lead it if I invited people to come. They said yes. On the first week, there were 6-8 of my friends there. Then 15, then 25, then 50, then 75, then 150 students at my parent's house every single Wednesday night. We did this Bible study all 4 years I was in HS and my little brother's Jr and Sr year for a total of 6 years!

I got a front row seat as a teenager to watch God transform the hearts of young people even though their homes may have been in shambles. To this day my parents will run into now 30-year-olds that can't thank them enough for pouring into their lives as a HS students.

I got to be a part of a "well-off" family that gave everything they had to love on teenagers. They never gave me the "I'm too busy" excuse. They did whatever was necessary to make the Bible study happen every single week. And to this day, the church that we moved that Bible study to is one of the biggest student ministries in the country.

God gives me BIG dreams! And even though I don't have a clue what I'm doing most of the time, He shows up and shows off anyways! And through that it's given me a passion to assist other people's big dreams come to life!

So who is Kyle...I am a man who is broken, makes mistakes, but is willing to fess up to those mistakes, eats too much, works out too little, but loves other people more than anything else in this world.

My passion in life is to leave people better than I found them. Plain and simple. That is why God has been able to call me to pastor, call me to roofing, call me to website stuff and now He's called me to coach!

There are so many more stories I could tell, but we'll save those for another day. Let me leave you with this...

Do not let anyone tell you that you are incapable of something. If you have a burning in your heart, but nothing else makes sense, do it anyways! And don't forget, everyone you walk past every single day has a story, ask them about it sometime. You never know what you might learn. We are all more connected than we think.

Thanks for reading. If you have any questions about what you read, please feel free to email me at kyle@kyledraper.com. God Bless.