In 1980, what seemed to be an unbelievable story began to unfold. After enjoying the voice of a singer in his church, Michael said a simple prayer. “Lord, if you give me a voice, I will sing for you.” Over the course of several short months, something happened. A rich baritone voice began to develop with no previous vocal training. The last time he had sung was in the second grade “glee club.” After learning what a vibrato was, he again said a simple prayer. “Lord, I think I need one of those.” The very next morning, a professional vibrato was evident. Michael subsequently took six vocal lessons from an opera teacher to better understand his voice.
At only 5 feet 6 inches tall and 170 pounds, the most common remark has been, “How does a voice like that come out of a little body like yours?” Over the years, his voice has been compared many times, for those who remember, to the late Robert Goulet. Michael has been encouraged to keep sharing the miracle of receiving his voice through a simple prayer.
Michael gave his life to Christ on April 1, 1977. Over the years he has had the privilege to work in many facets of ministry including volunteering, the pastorate, traveling as an evangelist, helping found and establish churches and nonprofit ministries. He also founded a Christian radio network in Iowa now owned by Air1, and participated in various and numerous crusades including the nationally recognized Love Crusade Program which he also founded, the most notable in 1996 featuring the largest crowd of 116 international cities during Newsboys’ “Take Me to Your Leader Tour.”
In October 2010, he began traveling with the evangelistic organization called the Strength Team. As a road manager, he was asked to sing songs in local churches. Many urged Michael to continue using his singing gift to bless congregations around the country. He now travels full-time in music ministry and continues as an ambassador and front man for the Strength Team.
He has completed 7 music projects and recently began a mainstream musical production called, “Turn Back The Hands of Time,” which he performs in theaters and performing arts venues across the country. Information on this production can be found at http://www.turnbackthehands.com/