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, another miracle son on the way, and a dog named Louie. We live in Northwest Indiana.   

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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.  

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As a kid, all I wanted to be was 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 my baseball career ended, My wife & I founded & operated a team sporting goods business for close to 10 years & while also coaching 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 campus of Christian Life Center in Northwest Indiana.  We said yes & in September of 2013 Christian Life Center Northwest Indiana was born.  We led that Campus for 7 years before being released to start a new work...Anthem Church!  Anthem Church was birthed in March of 2020 with the mission to lead people from all walks of life to know Christ & make Him known.  Since launching in 2020, our Anthem Church Family has grown from a couple hundred people to now a couple thousand of people from the Chicagoland area and beyond.  

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Over the past 20 years, I've had the wonderful privilege of not only leading our church, but also speaking and ministering at quite a few different churches and conferences, as well as coaching quite a few people from all different background & ages both on and off the field.  Along the way, I have developed a real 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. 

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Grateful for you & looking forward to connecting!

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Sam