Our Story
A story God has been writing.
Guiding people to Christ is personal for us. It is how we got here.
Our Story
Guiding people to Christ is personal for us. It is how we got here.
Kelsey & Jennifer McKenzie
We are Kelsey and Jennifer McKenzie. We have been married since 2015, and we have two beautiful kids: Ainee, born in 2015, and James, born in 2021.
We both grew up in La Ceiba, Honduras, where Kelsey was immersed in ministry from childhood. His roots reach back through his uncle Donny Allen and his grandfather Edward Allen, both pastors in Honduras. It was there, serving in his uncle’s church, that God first called him to ministry. That call carried our family to a church in Ohio, where we served for several years before sensing God drawing us toward the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
Kelsey, Jennifer, Ainee & James McKenzie
The road to Gulfport
In late 2023, Jennifer and I were visiting friends in Georgia when I suddenly fell ill and was admitted to the hospital. A nephrologist discovered that my kidney function had dropped dangerously low. I would need to remain in the United States for treatment.
We did not know why we were walking through such a hard season, but we knew God was doing something. Around that time our good friends Jeff and Rosan, founders of the Cornerstone Foundation, asked if we would consider moving to Mississippi. With nowhere else to go and no resources of our own, we said yes.
Pastor Jim, the state minister, connected us to a small congregation in Gulfport, then known as Klein Road Church of God. I began preaching there and eventually became senior pastor.
Looking back, we understand what we could not see then: God was leading us through that trial to prepare us to restart this church.
“On April 30, 2025, God provided a kidney for me. Today I am stronger than ever, pouring everything I have into moving this church forward.”
Now in our second year of leading this congregation, we saw the need for a fresh start: a new vision, a new mission, a new name, and a renewed commitment to God and to the people of Gulfport and beyond.
One church family
Jennifer and I co-lead Waypoint Church together. Our Honduran roots and bilingual hearts also carry a long-term vision for a Latino ministry alongside the English-speaking congregation: one church family, reaching every community God has placed along this coast.
The Here to Serve team, Gulfport