ABOUT US
HELLO
James & Heidi Drake are passionate about making Christ known. They have helped fulfill the Great Commission with Cru, both overseas & stateside, since 2004. Currently, they are serving in South Florida with Cru City. To find out more about their work visit :: www.CruSouthFlorida.com
ABOUT CRU
Cru is a caring community passionate about connecting people to Jesus Christ. There are over 26,000 Cru staff serving in 191 countries around the world. For more information about Cru visit :: www.cru.org
FUN FACTS
Better known as just “Drake”
James, has a Bachelors in Business Administration from Samford University & a Masters in Divinity from Beeson Divinity School. He is commissioned as a Chaplain in the Army Reserves by the National Association of Evangelicals and as a Missionary by Cru. James is a teaching elder for the Presbyterian Church in America and serves as a Pastor at Granada Chruch in Coral Gables, Florida. He also sits on multiple boards including :: the Florida Faith Council appointed by Governor Ron DeSantis, National Christian Foundation’s “Explore Foster Miami” Donor Advised Fund, City to City Miami, Pumped for Change, Worldviews International & Explore God Miami. You can follow him on social media @jamesbryandrake
👰 Heidi 💍
Heidi graduated from Samford with a degree in Exercise Science and then from the University of Alabama in Birmingham’s Surgical Physician Assistant program. She is licensed to practice medicine in Florida. Heidi gives leadership to the Christian Medical & Dental Association in South Florida.
🎓 College → New Zealand 🇳🇿
At Samford, James lettered in football & track and Heidi in basketball & track. James and Heidi still hold track and field records & Heidi was the MVP of the team! They just might be the fastest couple you’ll meet. James, as the emcee of Samford’s Step Sing, proposed to Heidi in front of 3,000+. He believes the high-pressure proposal was the best way to get Heidi to say “yes”! After graduation, James got his pilot’s license before getting grounded/married.
James and Heidi interned with Cru in New Zealand for 2 years (’04-’05) & had their first 2 “kids” there: wild goats named Billy & Cowboy.
Coming back stateside, James & Heidi continued to serve as associate staff with Cru while James went to seminary and Heidi worked as a P.A. in cardiothoracic surgery… she now chases her kids around full time (her track background is helping).
🏠 Licensed Homebuilder 🔨
To help pay for seminary & diapers, James became a licensed homebuilder and has built a good bit of their home furniture. He now understands why Jesus got out of carpentry.
🌎 Global Missions ✝️
After graduating from seminary in 2010, James & Heidi became full-time staff with Cru. They have traveled the globe doing mission and relief work, served as university chaplains, spoken to thousands stateside & internationally about the life, work, and teaching of Jesus Christ. More recently James and Heidi have been traveling around the USA speaking at Family Life Weekend to Remember Conferences.
James has also debated before packed college auditoriums & hosted large Open Forums answering life’s Big Questions. He is a frequent guest for health and theology-related podcasts, seminars, and conferences. James is not a “big deal” at home and prefers not to debate his wife. He knows how to answer Heidi’s questions… “yes ma’am”.
🏊♀️ Fitness Instructors & Adventure 🚴♂️
The Drakes are certified fitness instructors and have created a popular Theology of Health series called “6 Essentials for Your Body” for individuals and churches. Hundreds have participated in the #6EssentialsChallange and taken steps toward optimal health and a fulfilling life in Christ.
James and Heidi love to compete, never against each other though (marriage before sport), and have won multiple athletic events post-college: triathlons, the Warrior Dash, Pro Natural Bodybuilding, CrossFit competitions, ultimate frisbee tournaments, etc. Heidi is well known for running 5 miles the day before giving birth to Isaiah, their first child.
James has competed on NetFlix’s Ultimate Beastmaster for Team USA and was the last American standing in the finals. He also competed on American Ninja Warrior. You’ll have to watch season 3 on NetFlix and season 14 on NBC to see how he does!
Both James and Heidi love adventure and are licensed scuba divers, paragliders and freedivers. James is an avid aviator and has been a private pilot since 2003.
🏃♀️ The Competitive Spirit 🏃♂️
At home, with their 4 children and foster baby, there are contests like “who can take the quickest shower” (27 sec is a current record - gross) and their youngest gets upset if he doesn’t beat you in going potty the fastest. We’re not sure where this competitive spirit comes from. However, they are hoping these competitions will help prepare their children for a bright future (aka: college scholarship). The kids have been ranked top of their class at the Drake Academy (we homeschool with Classical Conversations in Coral Gables in case you missed that) and physical education is their favorite subject.
Although they would prefer to be on the field, court, and track James & Heidi love coaching their kids at Florida Christian School & the Coral Gables Youth Center. They have had a few undefeated seasons and some losses, or as they prefer to call them “lessons” along the way!
💃 And Breakdancing? 🕺🏻
While the Drakes have never been asked to sing in public, James has frequent requests for his breakdancing repertoire, in particular, “the worm”. This talent seems to have been passed down to the other males in their family. Despite these skills, James & Heidi still received a B- in their social dance class… for some reason, break dancing was not in the mix. You can follow the Drake Family on social media :: #thefirebreathingducks