On January 14th, 2018, Nick walked into the sanctuary of Emma Kate’s church for the first time. He decided he would drive 20 minutes to attend this church for someone really special, pastor Jimmy Agan. After two months of attending Intown Community Church, Nick decided to look for a church closer to his school. Nick never met Emma Kate during those months at Intown. However, this may have been for the best since he was a junior in college and she was a senior in high school.

It was another 6 years until Nick and Emma Kate would be in the same room again. This was enough time for Emma Kate to go to college at Georgia Southern, do the RUF internship for 2 years, and work in politics. Meanwhile, Nick graduated from Georgia Tech and moved to Munich, Germany as a pastoral intern. He had no plans to return to the US, much less marry a girl from Georgia.

But God! He had other plans. His plans are greater than what Nick and Emma Kate asked for and well worth the long and challenging wait for marriage.

In 2024, God put it on Emma Kate’s heart to attend Covenant Theological Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri. Nick had arrived there just one semester earlier. It was there that Nick and Emma Kate immediately became close friends. Nick’s travels and time away from home gave him a special appreciation for Georgia, the place he most often missed. As a result, he gladly welcomed friendship with Emma Kate and felt at home around her. He appreciated her kind spirit and sweet southern voice. She greatly enjoyed his child-like love for life and adventure as well as his passion for ministry. Both being very competitive, they regularly debated about who was more Georgian. Nick claimed that his rural childhood gave him a more authentic experience of the state than Emma Kate’s suburban (basically Atlantean) home. Emma Kate quickly responded that Nick is German, not Georgian. And so the dispute continued back and forth until this day…

While this friendship was playful and lifegiving, neither Nick nor Emma Kate expected it to lead anywhere serious for the first semester. It was not until Nick left for Munich that summer that he realized he was sad to leave Emma Kate. They called each other two times that summer. They would have loved to talk more, but they were not ready to be more than friends. As the end of the summer neared, Nick was excited to see Emma Kate again. He planned to take a few weeks and get a feel for their friendship. If everything felt good, he would ask her on a date. It only took a few days after Nick got back for things to feel just as they did before he left.

On September 13th, 2024, Nick asked Emma Kate out. After a few days of nervous back and forth, and some conversations with Nick, Emma Kate decided she could go on one date with him. She was clear to communicate that she was only agreeing to one date. That first date on September 25th was an absolute blast. Both laughed a lot and had a great time! Emma Kate agreed to go on a second date… and a third… and many many more. They met each others families over Thanksgiving and again over Christmas. These visits proved to be a meaningful and affirming season for both.

Amidst the stressors of school and life, the relationship grew deeply and on February 5th, 2025, Emma Kate said yes to going on dates with Nick for the rest of her life!! Nick took her to a car showroom to make her think this was an ordinary date, and then shifted the gears when they went to a pavilion that they danced in on their second date. When Emma Kate saw the string lights decorating the pavilion, she understood what was happening. Nick got down on one knee, while the rain pattered on the roof above, and asked her to marry him. With more joy than Nick or Emma Kate have ever experienced, Emma Kate said YES! YES! YES!

Now we wait with joy, anticipation, and many other emotions, we prepare for the beginning of our lives together. We thank God for giving us each other and for the future gift of marriage. As God brought us closer to each other, he also drew us closer to Him. The grace, sweetness, and steadfast love that we have for each other teaches us about God’s grace, sweetness, and steadfast love for us. God will continue to show us His love through our marriage for the rest of our lives.

In December of 2026, Nick will graduate with a Masters of Divinity and Emma Kate will graduate with a Masters in Biblical and Theological Studies. Upon graduation and raising sufficient funds, we plan to return to Germany so that Nick and Emma Kate can serve Jesus’s bride, the Church.

If you are reading our story, you have played an important part in our lives. We would not be followers of Christ, college graduates, or preparing for marriage without each one of you. We would not be here without you, and we cannot continue without you either. We hope that you will not just celebrate our wedding, but support, encourage, and pray for us during our lifelong marriage!