It is with profound gratitude to our Father in heaven and with an extreme sense of dependency upon the power of the Holy Spirit that I joyfully give my life away in service to King Jesus as a member of our pastoral team. Implicit trust in the sovereignty of our great God and an ever-increasing astonishment at the beauty of the Gospel and the severity of its implications fuel my zeal to love, lead, and serve our body with excellence. The stench of my own sin not with-standing, by the grace God, I am consumed by an unmitigated passion for His glory and honor to adorn every area of my life, my family’s life, and the life of my brothers and sisters at River Oaks. I am so thankful to our Body for giving me the opportunity to grow as a man, as a leader, and as a disciple of Jesus Christ. My responsibilities of leading the staff, providing overall leadership for ministries, and teaching in a variety of contexts, are as rewarding as they are challenging. As a husband, father, and pastor, I have learned more about serving and being served, leading and being led, and loving and being loved in the past 5 years than at any other time in my life. I married my exceptional wife Christi in 1995. Together we joyfully shepherd our 6 children: Savannah, Max, Jack, Samuel, Luke, and Ben… all of whom are wonderfully unique and all of whom contribute to the hilarity, intensity, and exceedingly great joy we experience in our home. In addition to my church responsibilities, I am honored to serve on the board of His Kids Sports. Before the Lord called me into pastoral ministry I worked in the bottled water industry for 9 years.

Chris has a B.A. in Psychology from Northern Illinois University and an M.B.A. from Keller Graduate School of Management. Prior to joining the staff at River Oaks, he enjoyed the humble privilege of serving as an elder at Lakeland Church in Gurnee, Ill.

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I feel blessed to be able to serve as an associate pastor at River Oaks Community Church. God called me and saved me at the age of sixteen, and since then He has been conforming me to the image of Jesus Christ (Romans 8:29). He has blessed me with a great family that lives in the Maryville area, and I am married to my wonderful wife Katherine, who tirelessly serves alongside me in ministering to our students. I have a great love for God and His word, and I am committed to expositionally teaching through the books of the Bible with our students. It is my goal to proclaim Jesus Christ (and His Gospel) so that He will save the lost and grow believers in their faith. The desire of my heart (and student ministries as a whole) is to “present everyone mature in Christ” (Colossians 1:28), and this is the end to which we toil day and night. I pray that our love for God will spill out of us and cause us to praise and glorify His name much like Paul in Ephesians 3:20-21, where he said, “Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”

Patrick is a graduate of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary with a Master of Divinity degree in Pastoral Studies (2007).

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Originally from New Orleans, my college career began in education, with a desire to teach middle school kids. While working my way through college, I diverted from the education field and started what turned into twenty years in the restaurant business. The best part of this diversion was meeting my amazing husband, Jeff. We worked for the same company; I was in Mobile, AL, Jeff was in Atlanta, and we met at a restaurant opening in Pittsburgh. Now that’s a God thing! The transfer of our company’s home office in 1999 brought us to Maryville. While Jeff continued to work for that company, we decided to open a gift shop and restaurant in downtown Maryville. While searching for a church, a friend from Jeff’s job invited us to attend her church. Within a week of that invitation, a customer at the café invited us to attend his church and to visit his small group. They both happened to attend the same church! Well, we visited and haven’t looked back! God showed us a church family that fiercely loves Him and loves each other. That’s when the Lord brought me back to His path and to my passion for middle school kids! He showed a group of us a need and gave us the courage to start the middle school ministry, known as Big Dog Kafe. With a handful of kids and 6 novice volunteer leaders, we started meeting in the year 2001. Many years and a ton of pre-teens later, my love for this age group has only gotten stronger. They have encouraged, taught and inspired me in more ways than I could ever have imagined. And oh how they keep you feeling young! What a great God we serve that knows our heart and knows our place. Each day I feel blessed to be able to come to a job where I can truly do work to glorify Him by serving His people - especially, His future generations.

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I’m an Alabama girl at heart, and I grew up in a Christian home where my parents first shared the Gospel with me. God redeemed me and adopted me into his family when I was twelve, and ever since He has been simply amazing me with His love and faithfulness. I was indeed an enemy of God, but He showed me mercy so that “Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life” (1 Timothy 1:16). In God’s perfect provision, He brought me to River Oaks in 2001 when I was a freshman at Maryville College. Over the years, God has used this church to grow me in my love for the Lord, my commitment to His Word, and my understanding of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In 2007, God led me to join the staff at River Oaks as the secretary. I love where God has planted me, because He has used this position to grow me in my gifts, for His glory, and He allows me to take great joy in what I do for His kingdom. He has gifted me in administration so that I can support the church and our pastors, and He has blessed me by allowing me to spend a lot of time talking and praying with our congregation. God has also given me a passion for youth ministry, and so I spend most of my “spare” time serving with my incredible husband, Patrick, in our student ministries. I love our students, and I am so thankful to be a part of their lives! Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever, Amen! (1 Timothy 1:17).