Leadership

Eric grew up in a Christian home.  Being with God’s people and hearing the Word of God was a regular part of his life.  As a young child, Eric understood his need for Christ because of the sin in his life.  Even today, he understands his constant need for Christ.  Without Christ, Eric acknowledges that he is nothing, and his life is God’s to do with as He wills. He and his wife, Anna, have 3 daughters, 1 son-in-law, and 1 beautiful granddaughter.
After graduating from Seminary, Eric helped found and operate Camp Living Stones, Inc. located in Southeast Tennessee.  For 10 years, he served as the camp director.  In 2007, his family moved to Mountain Home to serve on staff at First Baptist Church as Recreation Pastor.  In 2011, Eric was called to help plant and pastor The River Bible Church.

It was during Jordan’s senior year of high school that God truly opened Jordan’s eyes to his need of a Savior and to the realization that He WAS that Savior. By God’s mercy and grace, He surrounded Jordan with many spiritual “mothers and fathers” to guide and mentor him in the faith.
In September 2011, God called Jordan and Kelsey to Mountain Home, AR where they have been constantly overwhelmed by the love and encouragement of The River Bible Church family. Jordan and Kelsey have 2 children.

 Matthew was raised in a Christian home in east Tennessee with parents who taught him the value of church and Christian hospitality. He came to know the Lord as Savior at 11 years old when it was pointed out that going to church or being a good person cannot save anyone.
Matthew graduated from Tennessee Wesleyan College with a Bachelor of Arts in English and History. He has a Master of Science in Educational Leadership from the University of Tennessee and a Master of Divinity from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, TX. After serving as Church Planting Missionaries with NAMB for nine and half years on Vancouver Island, BC, Matthew and his wife, Heather moved to Mountain Home in 2021 to join the ministry and family at The River Bible Church. Matthew and Heather have 2 sons, 2 daughter-in-laws, and a beautiful grandson.

Will is a retired electrical engineer with a background in chip design.  He came to know the Lord at a young age through the grace of God in a Christian home in West Virginia.  His family lived in Puerto Rico and Texas before Will went to college at Texas A&M, but all the while, God was at work.  He brought his lovely wife, Michelle into his life in the early 80s, and they moved to Vermont where 3 boys were born: Will and Andrew (twins), and soon after, Danny.  Will served in areas of worship ministry and as a young elder, and Michelle in Sunday School there. After 10+ years, they were able to return to Texas in the Austin area.  During this time, God continued to work in both Will and Michelle’s life, while they taught Sunday School, lead worship, and were actively involved in Hill Country Bible Church.  They were called to two church plants, one in South Austin, and later, in Dripping Springs where they moved to be a part of those works.  While there, the 3 boys were married, and Will completed a Certificate of Biblical Studies from Dallas Theological Seminary.  
Will and Michelle moved again in 2013 to Mountain Home to become a part of the River Bible Church.  He retired in early 2018, and serves as an Elder, a Sunday School teacher, and on the Praise Team.

Rick was born and grew up in Little Rock, AR. After graduating high school, he attended the University of Arkansas. It was there he met his wife, Kayla. He received a degree in Zoology and moved onto Medical School in Little Rock.
Rick and Kayla were married in between Rick’s second and third year of medical school. Upon completion of medical school, they moved to Chapel Hill, NC where Rick would conclude his Internal Medicine residency training at University of North Carolina Medical School. Since that time, Rick and Kayla resided and worked in Bentonville, AR before moving to Mountain Home in 2004. God has blessed them with two sons, Elijah and Samuel. Rick currently works as a Hospitalist Physician at Baxter Regional Hospital and serves as Medical Director of Hospice of the Ozarks.
Rick was blessed with God-fearing parents who attended church faithfully. He made a profession of faith in 1978 at the age of 8. During his teenaged years and early adulthood his walk with the Lord was inconsistent. Shallowness led to times of open disobedience. But God in grace and mercy used those circumstances of life and challenges of early adulthood to reveal his desperate need for a constant relationship with his Heavenly Father.
Rick has been blessed with a wife who has become committed to following, serving and glorifying God. God continues to reveal His faithful and steadfast nature to them. It is Rick’s desire that God be magnified through making much of Christ and the promise of peace, joy, and contentment in Him.

 At a young age Amber had an understanding of who Jesus was, but the depth of her knowledge was only that Jesus was the Son of God and that he had died on the cross. She was lacking any evidence of Christ in her life, a personal relationship, and an understanding of what grace is. It wasn't until she was in her early 20's did she truly realize her need for a Savior and that without Jesus she had no hope. It was then that she surrendered her life to Christ and began trusting the Lord with her future.
Amber has a God-given desire to help children know biblical truth and a desire to see biblical principals and knowledge taught to children of all ages. 

Though Heather was not raised in a Christian home, she came to know and understand the love of God through friends who took her to a small Baptist church. Those families and the children's Sunday School teachers taught her about the good Father who loves her perfectly. She chose to accept His gift of salvation and began following Jesus at age 12.
She has a bachelor’s degree in Accounting and Business Administration and  a Master of Arts in Biblical Counseling from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.
Heather came to The River Bible Church in  2021 when her husband, Matthew, began as the Family Pastor and she began working as the financial secretary in July 2021. She began practicing Biblical Counseling at The River in 2022  and desires help women, couples and families find hope in healing in God’s sufficient word.

Naomi grew up in a Christian home and made a decision to give her life to Christ and was baptized at the age of 12. She was born in the Rio Grande Valley, lived in Dallas for a number of years, and moved to Mountain Home in 2001. She is a proud aunt to one nephew, and three nieces.
At the age of 14, Naomi and her family were in a car accident involving a deer. Naomi suffered a serious spinal cord injury that left her with significant mobility issues and numerous other long term health issues. In the years following her accident, Naomi learned what trusting in God and accepting His will truly meant.
At the age of 25, Naomi was able to complete her GED and start classes at Arkansas State University Mountain Home. In May of 2018 she completed her Associates Degree in Business & Office management. In December of 2018 she became the permanent Administrative Assistant at The River. She loves keeping people and things organized, and feels blessed to be able to work behind the scenes to support the Staff, Elders, and Deacons at The River. She has also served with The River’s college ministry, and River Kid’s children’s ministry, and is currently The River’s Church Rep for The CALL of Baxter County.