I was born in Dayton, Ohio, on January 24, 1951, and grew up in a small farm community with four siblings. Two years after High School, I joined the Air Force in 1971. While stationed at Eglin AFB, Florida, my two best friends led me to Christ. Two years later I was reassigned to Elmendorf AFB, Alaska where I met my wife, Roseann, at church in Anchorage. We were married in 1974.
After I fulfilled my service duties, the church elders confirmed my calling to the ministry and ordained me as a pastor in November of 1975. For the next forty years, Roseann and I planted and pastored three churches (in Florida, Minnesota, and North Carolina). During those years, I earned my D. Min. and Ph. D. in Theology through Logos University in Jacksonville, Florida.
After 45-plus years of pastoral and teaching ministry, I continue to concentrate on my mission to make disciples who make disciples through my courses and curriculum and my 501(c)3 organization called DG Global, a subsidiary of Jay Zinn Ministries, Inc.
Roseann and I live in North Carolina and have two adult children, two granddaughters, and a great-granddaughter.