I’m Michael Cleveland. I’ve been married to the love of my life, Natalie for 13 years. She is the most talented person I’ve ever met. (Check out her website, www.NatalieCleveland.com to see what I mean!) Together, we have 3 smart, beautiful, and hilarious daughters.

I’ve been an underdog my entire life but have always overachieved, especially when I’ve been doubted the most.  Growing up in a small town in Oklahoma, I was told I could never make it in the music industry.  After years of dedication and perseverance, I was able to achieve a record deal with Warner Bro’s, performances for sold-out, 18,000 seat arenas, a #1 song on Billboard and MediaBase for 5 consecutive weeks, 4 K-Love Fan Award nominations and a Dove award nomination.

I grew up in a ministry family and have been involved in ministry for most of my life. I’ve lead worship, I’ve been a student pastor, I’ve directed creative teams, tech teams, overseen discipleship, served as a Senior Pastor and even scrubbed a few toilets.

I’m a creative with an accountant for a father and his analytical thinking is in my DNA. I have over 18 years of experience in building and leading teams of both employees and volunteers. My family owned BBQ restaurants for over 30 years. I grew up seeing first-hand what it takes to grow a successful business.

I’m passionate about helping people connect to God and connect to other people. I believe that we aren’t supposed to try and go through this life on our own, instead, I believe that WE WIN TOGETHER. God created us for community with
other people. I also believe that everyone belongs in the Kingdom. No matter who you are, where you’ve been, or what you’ve done, God loves you and has a place for you.  These are the principles that guided me as a Senior Pastor.  In 2016, I took over a declining rural church averaging 60 in weekly attendance.  Again, I was an underdog.  Again, I was told I would fail.  However, in just 11 months, the church grew from 60 to over 400 in weekly attendance.  Every week people were meeting God for the first time.  Every week we did all we could to HELP PEOPLE WIN both spiritually and physically in their lives.  I was most proud that we built a reputation in the community of being a place that was welcoming of everyone.

I’ve cooked in restaurants, run the cash register at McDonald’s, worked demolition for a restoration company, stocked shelves at Walmart, sold cell phones and clothes in retail stores, made copies of legal documents in the basement of a law firm, taught music lessons and owned/operated a recording studio.

I’ve worked in several different fields, but ultimately, they’ve always been about PR, marketing, creative storytelling, and most importantly, relationships.  Those are my grand slams, my triple doubles, my hat tricks. That is how I light up the scoreboard.

I enjoy sports, especially basketball and love to cook. Check out my site and make sure to follow me on Instagram @mcleve3.