I have been the Senior Pastor at Riverside Church since September 1st, 2003. It is a joy and a privilege for me to do what I do because I am able to use the gifts God has given me to proclaim His truth to people every week, and I am excited when I see people cross the line of faith and begin to be transformed by God’s grace, truth, and power.

I have been a Pastor and Missionary in the C&MA since May of 1979. My wife Gwen and I were missionaries in Sydney, Australia for six years. Our two children were born there during that time and so are dual citizens. We are the proud grandparents of 2 beautiful grandchildren. I also served as the Senior Pastor at Hope Community Church in Cottage Grove for 14 nonconsecutive years.

In the last few years I have become a more serious runner and I have run 5 half marathons since April of 2011, and I hope to be able to continue to participate in various distance runs in the future. I find hiking and running to be times of exercise, quietness, and prayer for me. I also have played racquetball for many years and I follow a variety of sports. I’m a history nut (it was my major in college) and avidly follow contemporary news and issues, too. While I am a native Minnesotan, I am not a “winter person” by any stretch of the imagination. Warmth and sunlight give me a lot of joy and energy.

Gwen and I have been married since 1978 and we enjoy traveling whenever we can. We always consider it a privilege when we have been invited to speak to C&MA missionary teams in different parts of the world, as well as at camps and conferences.

My wife Cherise and I moved to a new country, with our family to join the Riverside staff team in 2000 as the Creative Arts Pastor. I currently serve in the Exec role on the staff team and enjoy working with our great team. One of the things that I love most about Riverside are the people. We have such a great team of volunteers and staff committed to doing whatever it takes to help accomplish the mission of the local church. If you are new to Riverside or have been coming for years, I want to encourage you to get connected by being a part of one of the many teams that we have. This will help you get to know people and help you feel connected.

Riverside is an amazing place to be part of and it has been a fruitful journey that has both challenged me and blessed my family.

Welcome to Riverside! My husband and I live in Big Lake with our two children and our dog, Sasha. Riverside has been our church home for 25 years; we are blessed by our relationships here and our entire family enjoys engaging and volunteering.

God has used my college education in business and psychology, as well as diverse work and serving experiences, as a wonderful backdrop for my role here at Riverside. I often hear the phrase, "You look so familiar; where do I know you from?" It is a true joy to serve the staff and the body here at Riverside, and I love using the gifts God has given me to bless others.

Sasha makes sure I walk or jog almost every day. Our family loves to travel, and camping is an activity we really enjoy experiencing together. If we're not at the campfire toasting S'mores, we're probably curled up in a chair reading a good book. Feel free to email me with any questions you have about Riverside and I'll be glad to help you get connected!

Hey there! My name is Dan Boal and I serve as the Pastor of Student Ministries. I graduated from Moody Bible Institute with a degree in Bible and Communication Studies, and I received my Masters in Communication from Bethel University. I’ve served with South Park Church in Park Ridge, IL and Woodbury Community Church in Woodbury, MN in the areas of youth, family, and young adult ministry.

My wife Amy and I have two beautiful children Everett and Arayla. We are avid motorcycle enthusiasts, but we spend most of our days wrangling small children! I’m passionate about connecting with students and partnering with parents to help make God’s truth a reality in their lives.

My name is Chip Garrison, well actually it's William, but that's another story. I am the Pastor of Children's Ministries at Riverside Church. This means I work with kids ages birth through 5th Grades. I joined the team at Riverside in May of 2011. I've served in ministry as either a Senior Pastor or Children's Pastor since 1994. I love kids, families, and my greatest passion is seeing young people come to faith in Christ, and grow up to be a follower of Jesus!

My wife Kim and I have been married for 19 years. We met while at MidAmerica Nazarene University in Olathe, KS. She is an elementary education teacher. We have two children, Lindsey 10, and Drew 7. Lindsey loves dance, gymnastics, and anything girly (and bugs). Drew is all boy - sports, star wars, sports, and wrestling are his favorites! I love doing family stuff, geocaching (ask me and I'll explain), computers, and pretty much any sports. I'm a HUGE Kansas City Chiefs fan, and a Jayhawk fan. I love to connect with kids and adults alike, and I'm on facebook and twitter often, so let's connect!

facebook.com/chipgarrison
twitter.com/pastorchip

Hello, my name is Clayton Taylor and I am the Pastor of High School Ministries here at Riverside Church. I hail from a small town in Iowa (and yes I am a huge Iowa Hawkeye fan!), and now reside in Big Lake, MN where I am married to my beautiful wife Angela. I am a big fan of sports, the outdoors, family and friends. I have two degrees, a Bachelor’s degree in Graphic Arts from Clinton Community College, and a degree in Youth Ministry from Crown College. Throughout the years, God has blessed me with many opportunities to serve in youth ministry through camping ministry, churches, and para-church ministry. As a result God developed in me a passion and desire to see students own their faith by having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and living it out in their lives.

Since coming on staff in July of 2008, I have been blessed by the people and students I have met, and am excited to continue to serve this church as God leads and guides me on this journey. Please feel free to stop by or call; I would love to meet you.

Hi! My name is Joy Scherber and I began serving as the Elementary Director at Riverside in August, 2009. When I was in 5th grade my family and I moved to Big Lake. We had moved from New Brighton and I always thought, “When I’m 18, I’m outta this hick town.” Big Lake has grown a lot since then, and who would have imagined that after graduating from college and getting married, my husband and I would decide to settle in Big Lake?

Scott and I found Riverside when our kids, Matt and Katie, were three and four years old. We’ve been coming to Riverside regularly since 1997 and have thoroughly enjoyed our time here. We are so glad God brought to Riverside and truly feel we’re with family here.

It’s been a great privilege to serve in the children’s ministry area since we’ve been attending Riverside. It is such an exciting thing to be able to share God’s love with kids, and see their excitement as they learn and grow. I can’t imagine my life without them!

I became a believer in Jesus at age 8 but it wasn’t until 10 years later that it dawned on me that the real joy was in totally devoting my life to Christ. God’s stitched a big piece of his own heart in me for people. I enjoy making new friends and constantly look for opportunities to talk with people about Jesus Christ. I graduated from TCU and Dallas Theological Seminary. I’ve enjoyed serving two churches, first at Topeka Bible Church for a dozen years as an associate pastor, and then eager for more challenge, for 18 years as the senior pastor at Northlake Community Church in Bellingham, WA.

My work as the community life pastor is to help focus our efforts to reach out with Christ’s love and gospel to the people who live here and give them opportunities to serve in short-term missions. My primary task is developing new small groups where people “do life together in Christ” by studying the Bible, remembering each other in prayer, and by intentionally reaching out to serve and share Christ in their own neighborhoods and communities. The flip side of that key assignment is to help all of us who already know Jesus get even stronger through what we call “G-Training”. G stands for experiencing God’s grace, growing in your love for him and others and then giving of yourself. We do this through Bible classes/seminars that teach the Bible, explain how to manage money, become skilled parents, stay in love with the same spouse for the long haul etc. So that I might multiply God’s work and not just add to it, I spend a lot of my time coaching and supporting our existing leaders and developing new ones.

Louise is the best thing that’s ever happened to me. We’ve been married, let’s just say, for quite a while. She’s an incredible hostess and we love having people over. We have three fun-to-be-around grown children, two God-given daughters-in-law, and three drop-dead-in-your-tracks-good-looking, grandkids. Thank You God for Skype and face time!

I love to read not only books on ministry but also history, biography, sports stories, business, and crime stories. If you want to really know Jesus better, than I highly recommend anything by my two good friends Gary Thomas, and Ken Gire. Check out "Authentic Faith" and "Intimate Moments" with the Savior for starters. For the record: I am easily bribed by an offer of an extra hot mocha. I love mountain biking whenever possible. If you happen to have one on your property, let me know.

I grew up in a Christian home in Omaha, Nebraska. I had the privilege going to church on my first Sunday out of the hospital. Yet it was not until 7th grade that I trusted Christ as my Savior and Lord. I was involved in youth group at the Benson Alliance Church through high school and at that time I sensed God’s direction to attend St. Paul Bible College after high school.

I met Becky at SPBC (now Crown) and we were married in 1970. We have two sons, Nathan and Matthew, who are married and both have kids that we thoroughly enjoy! I started church ministry in 1973 as youth pastor here at Riverside. Becky and I have served at churches in Staples, Elk River, and Brooklyn Park, Minnesota. We also served in Ohio for four years. I joined the staff at Riverside for the second time in 1998 and currently serve part-time as the Pastor of Care Ministries.

On a more personal note, I enjoy finding a bargain at garage sales. One of my favorite finds is the matchbox VW van I found for $1 that is worth as much as $50.

I was first introduced to the people of Riverside my freshman year at Crown College. Like many of you, I was invited by a friend to check this place out. My life has never been the same! I met my husband, Tim, here and we were later married here. We now live in Becker and have three great kids - Tom, Jodi and Brent - who all have served here along with us when their college/high school studies make that possible.

I graduated from Crown College with a degree in Pastoral Ministries, and have always loved serving here as a volunteer. I joined the Riverside staff in the spring of 2007 and recently transitioned from Family Ministries to my current role as the Community Life Assistant. One of my passions is to see people grow in their faith and get connected to others here at Riverside, and I look forward to helping in that process in my current role.

I love to sing, play the flute, sew, cook and spend time with friends & family.

My name is Chad Doran and I joined the Riverside team in the fall of 2010! I have great passion for all things creative and I love to utilize the creative arts to communicate God's love, purpose, and plan for mankind and His church. I graduated from Trinity International University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music. My creativity is expressed through music, songwriting, worship leading, graphic design, video development, production, studio engineering, leadership, humor, and occasionally baking. I am married to Becky and we are proud parents of our 6 year old son and 4 year old daughter.

My name is Betty Hawkins and I'm in my 38th year of service here at Riverside.

In addition to working in the office, I help out in the nursery, participate in WAM (Women About Missions), and enjoy attending other women's events.

I enjoy spending time with family and friends bike riding and watching sports -- especially the Minnesota Vikings football team!

Hello and welcome to Riverside Church. My name is Judy Slocum. I have attended Riverside for 15 years and have worked in the office over 12 years. I absolutely love it here! The people are wonderful and the job is great. It’s an honor to be a part of the team.

I am the second youngest of ten children in a family where our parents celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. As I look back on being raised with that many siblings I have to say it was a real blessing to be part of so many “adventures” with my family. I have lots of great memories and we are constantly making new ones as our families continue to grow (39 nieces & nephews and 15 great nieces and nephews so far).

My husband, Gary, and I have been married for 14 years. We are a blended family with six kids between us (all but one are married). So far we have one granddaughter, Gracie, who is 2 ½. God willing, we’re hoping for many, many more!

I hope you find Riverside as warm and welcoming as I did when I first started attending here, and still do. I feel truly blessed to be able to call Riverside Church my church home. God is so good!!

Hello, and welcome to Riverside Church.

Let me introduce myself to you. I am the oldest of eleven children in a blended family. I love to travel, read, watch movies and tackle things on the ‘honey-do’ list. My husband, Jerry, and I have been married for 30 years and we have two adult sons. I grew up in Worthington, MN, a small town girl, graduated from SCSU with a BS degree in Business Education and had a number of jobs pushing papers. I was a daycare provider for 31 children over the span of 6 years and we home-schooled our own children for 5 years. I used to call myself a “stay-at-home-mom”, but upgraded my status to a “gone-all-the-time-wife” after the boys grew up and left home for college. After volunteering for 10 years, I joined the Riverside staff as the Creative Arts Assistant.

Jerry and I have been part of the Riverside family for the past 20 years. I am thrilled that God uses people to accomplish His work, and delighted to be available for His service. To tell His story through music, drama, dance and video is a joy. Every day I am aware that we are made in the Creator’s image, with an innate desire to be like Him and create something—not to impress Him, but to show how great He is. Whether I am writing, reading, scrap-booking or admiring the world around me, I take great joy in living an abundant life each day!

Hello! I joined the Riverside staff team on August 2nd, 2009, and I have loved being a part of the Riverside church family! I grew up in Maple Grove, MN and have been driving past Riverside my entire life; who knew I would be working here someday! I'm also a proud auntie to three adorable little girls and two handsome little men! They keep me smiling, and I enjoy every minute I get to spend with them!

2009 was a big year in my life. I graduated from Crown College in May of 2009 with a Communications Degree. Two weeks later, I married the man of my dreams on May 30th! We currently reside in Big Lake, MN and have loved living life together.

God has been faithful in the path He has brought me on; I would have never guessed I would be serving at a church but here I am! He has shown me that His plans are far greater for my life than I could have ever imagined, and I cannot wait to see what He has in store for me next!

Hi! My name is Aleah Stenberg and I am the Communication Arts Intern here at Riverside. I grew up in Big Lake and started attending Riverside Church with my family when I started Junior High. I have my Bachelor’s Degree from Northwestern College in Orange City, Iowa where I majored in Theatre and minored in Multimedia. Riverside has been my spiritual church home since I started attending, and I am thrilled to be interning here!

I love to laugh! I enjoy baking, reading, singing, playing piano, watching football, building snow sculptures and the heat and humidity of Minnesota summers. My passport displays my dreams of travel and includes stamps from Canada, London, Ethiopia and most recently Costa Rica.

Hi, I’m Josh Euerle. I grew up in rural Wisconsin, in a Christian home, with 3 younger brothers. When I was 15 years old, my family moved to Dallas TX. I lived in Texas for 9 years before I was able to move back here to “God’s Country.”
I graduated from Christ for the Nations Institute, where I met my wife, Ronni. After we were married, my wife and I served for 3 years as Youth Pastors in a small church in Duncanville, TX, and then I became a high school teacher for 2 years at Christ for the Nations Academy in Dallas, TX. In June of 2000 my wife and I moved “up north.” We both love it up here: the four seasons… the many lakes to fish on… the snow at Christmas time…
I enjoy spending time with my wife, hanging out with friends, hunting, fishing, hiking, gardening, woodworking, watching movies, and sports; and pretty much anything having to do with the outdoors. I am a die-hard Green Bay Packer fan and an avid Twins fan.
In December of 2004 I began working for Riverside Church. It has truly been a pleasure to serve at a church where God is moving and growing His kingdom!

Hello and welcome.

I am the Night Custodian and Host during the week. I take care of preparing the rooms and equipment for the numerous bible studies and meetings here at Riverside. It is very enjoyable setting up for and assisting the various groups with their needs in the evenings as they meet and interact around God’s word. Riverside gets a good amount of usage and keeping it ready for the next use keeps me moving.

I grew up in Buffalo, NY and decided I would never be in a cold climate when I left Buffalo to join the Air Force. Little did I know that after my tour in the Air Force in Texas, during which I met and married my wife Wanda, and having two fine sons, Christopher and Daniel and then living in North Carolina for 10 years, that I would be back in the cold here in Minnesota. I don’t relish the winters but I love our spring and fall and enjoy the summers.

I came to know Jesus Christ as my personal savior a little over 15 years ago and it has been a wonderful experience since then. Seldom does a day go by that I don’t see something in His creation that makes me stop and say thank you. Along with Wanda, we have been attending Riverside for about 10 years and I look forward to Sunday services, volunteering and participating in the many events that are held here.

I hope to see you at one of the events here soon. Be sure to find me and say hello.

Hi and welcome to Riverside Church! My name is Kylee Helser and I am the Nursery Director. I am so excited to be a part of this amazing staff and church. My family has been coming here for 3 years and we have loved every minute!

I have been married to my wonderful husband Dave for almost 12 years. We have two beautiful children, Matthew who’s 10 and Amanda who’s 8.

Matthew has become involved in lots of learning and growing opportunities at Riverside. He recently graduated No Limits and is involved in the SWitch classes. He is also a worship crew leader and helps with tech. I love watching him grow in his faith and to see how he has brought it to his friendships at school. He is involved in all sports: baseball, football, basketball, tennis, and golf, just to name a few!

Amanda is our little princess. She is totally a girly girl! She loves making crafts, singing and dancing, and being outside. She loves being a part of Sunday mornings at Riverside and making new friends. Hearing her sing about Jesus at home fills my heart with such joy. She recently joined Girl Scouts and got to go to a Father/Daughter dance! It is her favorite memory to date!

Before joining Riverside, I was a licensed home daycare provider for 7 years. I have always enjoyed being a part of children’s lives. I am so excited and blessed to be able to teach and love on your children during church.

One of my favorite verses is:
I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth. 3 John 1:4.

I look forward to serving you and your family!

Hello! My name is April Hutchcraft and I began serving as the Family Ministries Assistant in May of 2012. My family has called Riverside home since 2009. I love to see God at work and lives of Riverside kids and youth changed for Him!

I have been married to my husband Josh for 13 years. We met as teenagers at Big Sandy Camp. We have 5 kiddos; Caitlin (12), Jordan (10), Jackson (8), Colton (6), and Payton (almost 3). Our large family keeps us busy, so we truly enjoy the times where we can just be together.

I have had the privilege of calling Riverside my church home for 17 years now. I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior in 2002, and was baptized in 2007. I have volunteered on a regular basis for over five years, and started working on the facilities team in July of 2012. I have seen GOD working in Riverside for many years, and I have had many opportunities to express his love to others. In the summer of 2008, I went to Reynosa, Mexico on a mission trip where I had the opportunity to work with the church there to evangelize to a very desperate city. I plan on going to LIFE in 2013, and hopefully continue mission work as a young adult.

I am currently a senior at Big Lake High School, though I take all my classes through Northwestern Christian College. Next year, I hope to attend Northwestern College. I am planning on majoring in engineering, as well as serving my country through either Navy or Air Force ROTC. I also enjoy doing a wide variety of activities. I am involved in National Honor Society, Riverside High School Youth Group, and the Boy Scouts of America, where I recently obtained the rank of Eagle Scout. I participate in Varsity Tennis through Big Lake, and also enjoy snowboarding in the winter. I also enjoy other outdoor activities such as hunting, camping, and running. In my free time, you will almost always find me spending time goofing off with friends, or playing guitar.

Hi, I’m Ben, and I’ve been the Creative Arts Associate at Riverside Church since the fall of 2012. I live and breathe creative evangelism and culturally-relevant, media-driven approaches to ministry. I’m probably a musician more than anything else, but I also love graphic and web design, videography, stage design, drama and social media.

Of course, I’m a husband and father even more than a pastor. My wife Amy and I are from northwest Missouri, and were married in the summer of 2004. We have four awesome children: Gideon, Melody, Harmony and Reuben.

Like I said, I love music, and leading corporate worship is one of my favorite things in the world. It’s a thrill for me to see people come into relationship with Christ and connect on a deeper level with God through worship!

Hi, my name is Josh Hutchcraft; I am the Student Ministries Intern at Riverside Church. My family and I have called Riverside our church home for four years. First the important stuff….family! I have been married to my wife April for almost 13 years. We have 5 children; Caitlin (12), Jordan (10), Jackson (8), Colton (5), and Payton (2). I graduated from Crown College in 2002 with a degree in Pastoral Leadership and have been in Student and Family Ministries as a Pastor, speaker, teacher, and mentor in many different situations and places over the last 10 years. I have a huge passion for seeing students and their families reached for Jesus Christ, grow in their faith, and become confident in their faith to share the good news of Jesus Christ with others. My hobbies include sports (watching, playing, and coaching), movies, and traveling with my wife when I can. I am excited to serve here at Riverside and look forward to all that God is doing and will do. If you see me say hi, I would love to connect with you!