ABOUT
Hi! My name is Sam Hamstra.
My wife Taylor, & I are the founders & Lead Pastors of Anthem Church located in Hammond, Indiana. We have one son, Daniel, and (don't judge me) two cats named Clark & Addison. If you are a Chicago Cub fan like me, you understand why we named our cats Clark & Addison. We live in Northwest Indiana.
I'm incredibly passionate about helping people reach their potential in life & leadership. That's the main reason for this site and the resources found here.
As a kid, I wanted to be a pro baseball player. My claim to fame is hitting the first home run of the 1992 Little League World Series off a future big leaguer Sean Burroughs....I'm not making that up!
I ended up playing college ball at Lipscomb University in Nashville, TN for 3 years & transferred to Saint Xavier in Chicago, IL & played a year there and got a degree in Marketing & Public Relations. After college, I signed a contract with an independent professional team and played for a whopping three days and then got released.
After my baseball career ended, My wife & I founded & operated a team sporting goods business for close to 10 years & coached baseball at the high school & collegiate levels.
In my late 20's, It's a long story, but I experienced a call to ministry. One thing led to another & Taylor & I ended up becoming the Youth Pastors at Christian Life Center in Chicagoland. We led the Student Ministry there for 5 years. Our Pastor, Jerry McQuay, then asked us to start a new church in Northwest Indiana. We said yes & in September of 2013 Christian Life Center Hammond / Now Anthem Church was born.
Over the past few years, I've had the wonderful privilege of leading our church as well as speaking and ministering at quite a few different churches and conferences. Along the way, I developed a passion for coaching and helping others reach their potential in leadership & life. This passion has been evolved into what you see here. I hope it helps you in some meaningful way!
If you would like more information or want to stay updated on all the latest & greatest samhamstra.com goodies, subscribe to my email list on the bottom of this page.
Grateful for you & looking forward to connecting!
Sam