We’re passionate about seeing Utahns freed to love and serve the true Jesus. We believe that God has lit His fire in our hearts to share the true Gospel with our friends and neighbors here in Utah, and we believe one of the ways He has called us to do that is by joining the staff of King’s Cross Church.

Who We Are

What happens when a Utah boy travels to Tijuana to do construction on a children’s home and ends up dancing with said children in the front row of a California girl’s Zumba Fitness® class? The Porters. Austin and Emily met (1) dancing, and (2) on mission, and we haven’t looked back. We have lived in small-town Kansas, coastal California, and colorful Colorado, but Utah has our hearts.

Emily earned her BA in Dance and Performance Studies from University of California, Berkeley and her MA in Teaching from Biola University. She taught 6-12th-grade English before “retiring” to raise Timothy, now 2 years old, and lead the Porter pack of golden retrievers. Austin earned his BA in New Testament Biblical Studies from Sterling College and his Master of Divinity in Old Testament from Denver Seminary. (He is proud to now have one complete Bible degree.)

In 2018, shortly before a month-long study trip through Israel and Jordan, we received a clear call from God to settle in the Salt Lake Valley. When God calls, He also ignites. As we visited ancient sites where God worked to set His people free, God fueled our desire to see spiritual captives set free in Utah. So upon our return to the States, we packed up and moved to northern Utah, adopted a couple of golden retrievers, started our family (Timothy, age 2, and Helen, due in March 2023), and asked God to use us for His glory here.

What We Do

God loves to use surprise and adventure as He builds our mission and family, so we embrace the surprise and adventure of church planting in Utah. Previously in Utah, Austin worked as the Director of Youth and Young Adult Ministries at Mountain Road Church, and then as a hospice chaplain serving a number of counties across the Valley. These roles have grown our understanding of the empty spiritual life of northern Utah. The longer we live in this state and the more we learn of its culture, the stronger our conviction that Utah needs more strategically planted churches across the Salt Lake Valley to minister to the local people.

So, after much prayerful consideration, we have agreed to help plant King’s Cross Church, officially launching in March 2023 in Farmington. Austin will serve as the Minister of Caring, Youth, and Families.

Over time it has become clear that God prepared us for this good work before we even considered it (Ephesians 2:10). We welcome the opportunity to trust God more deeply, serve His Church more fully, and help cultivate a safe and gracious space for our many friends and neighbors to know freedom from bondage.

We are excited to be in this together. Welcome to the family.