Pete Dill

Looking back at my life, I can see God was always there, moving the pieces to draw me closer to Him.

As a toddler, I can remember the incense in Church at Christmas Eve Mass and feeling God’s presence. Hot summer nights always bring me back to Summer Camp, where I encountered God in a powerful way. In my twenties, I can remember moments of feeling distant from God, but in an instant, a worship song led me close to Him.

All of these experiences were God working in my life to see His Love in a more significant way. To know Him better. To grow in a relationship with Him.

I had a Catholic upbringing in New Jersey (Shoutout to bagels and great pizza.)

My childhood was filled with people who loved God and wanted me to love God.

And, like many young Catholic children, my interests were more in playing basketball.

But God was always moving the pieces in my life.

In 2008, I graduated high school and enrolled at Seton Hall University. Fulfilling my childhood dream of playing college sports, I walked on to the basketball team and loved every second of representing my school. My majors were Philosophy and Theology.

College was fun, exciting, and filled with unique opportunities. But I also grew distant from God at times. I put myself first and let God take a backseat to what I wanted even though the things I wanted were not always good for me.

But God was always moving the pieces in my life.

I was seeking more, and Jesus drew me closer in a big way.

After graduating in 2012, I responded to a call from God by volunteering as a missionary for 2 ½ years in the Philippines, El Salvador, and Ecuador. These years were spent seeing the far reach of our Church and humbly showing God's love to all His children. After finishing that season of life and taking all the lessons learned from the time of service, I started working for a Creative Agency in New York City. God used this time to help me grow in my professional skills in the Audio, Video, Social Media, and Digital World.

My life in New York City was going great, and I figured I would live the rest of my life in the East Coast area.

But God was always moving the pieces in my life.

In 2017, I met my future wife Tania at a wedding in Connecticut. She lived in Texas. I lived in NYC. What could ever come of this, right?

What started off as a long-distance relationship quickly became our vocation.

So, in 2019 we were engaged to be married. But where were we going to live? How is God going to work this out?

I had all these questions, but I felt God calling me to Texas. So, I packed my bags, took a leap of faith, and headed down to Austin, Texas.

It’s been almost 4 years living in Austin, and we recently welcomed our first child this past August.

I now run the BackSeat Media brand, where we celebrate the everyday life of following Christ. Our videos, podcasts, and blogs focus on using New Media to build the kingdom of God. There has never been a better time to be Bold in proclaiming the Good News to the entire world! And with BackSeat Media, I truly believe in the power of building bridges of truthful communication between all of God’s children across the world.

God has always been moving the pieces in my life. And, He is not just a distant, abstract concept but a real and living presence in my life. Jesus has brought me through difficult times and helped me to grow in faith and my life is so good because of His Love.