Jerry

I was born in Southwest Virginia and by the age of 6 my family moved to Manassas where I lived with my father, mother, and 4 sisters. I felt the Lord dealing with my heart at the age of 12, but it was the age of 17 before I yielded to His calling. I accepted the Lord as my Lord and Savior in March 1974.

I met Wanda and proposed marriage on our first date on April 5, 1974, and we were married 4 months later. I tell her at times that God had to get my attention before He would allow us to meet. We have been married 46 years and have three children and 12 grandchildren. We feel totally blessed by God.

During the years of 1978 to 1987, we attended a small Pentecostal Church in Manassas where we served as an Elder in the church, as well as, ministering in areas such as youth leaders, pastoral care, and jail and nursing home services. During this time, I walked in the calling of Evangelism, where I traveled and preached in our home fellowship regularly. I became an Ordained Minister in 1982 in Prince William County. We moved to Madison County in 1985 and continued to travel to Manassas for the fellowship until 1987, at that time we moved to Orange County where we still live today. We visited Raccoon Ford Christian Fellowship/Riverside in May of 1988 and have been attending ever since. We served as a Deacon, Elder, head of local outreach, Adult Sunday School, and attended missions trips to Haiti, Mexico, and Mississippi.

During our years in Orange County, we have served as foster parents, emergency care, as well as established a non-profit status to allow us to work from our home with Teens at Risk. We also worked with The Fresh Air Fund for about 6 years, helping inner city children from New York to get the experience of living in the country for a couple of weeks during the summer. This I considered to be a part of my calling unto God. We also worked with the Department of Social Services in Orange County as a Big Brother Program before it ever existed in this area, working with dysfunctional families that just needed a break, and children that needed to be loved on.

In 1990, I was asked to help with building the original Raccoon Ford Christian Fellowship, which I feel was a privilege because I was able to be a part of the Natural and then the Spiritual of what God had in store for His people. (1 Cor.15:46)

Over the past several years, I helped Co-Pastor Riverside Church with two other Elders who were able, through much prayer and seeking God for answers and leadership for His people that were entrusted to us, to facilitate the merger of Riverside/ MVCC—Orange Campus.

Wanda and myself have tried to be the hands and feet of Jesus to the hurting, the broken, and the ones less fortunate whenever possible. Our purpose in life is to hopefully leave a legacy to our children, grandchildren, and those who we come in contact with, to actively pursue the heart of God, His Plans, and recognize His purpose in all things.