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.   You can check out The Anthem Story here by clicking the video below.

 

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