Chris Riser
Alisa, Josiah, Chris, Johanna, Marie and Selena Riser
The greatest thing that has ever happened to me is the work of God to bring me to salvation! I was not raised in a Christian home and so the salvation of my parents when I was seven years old had a radical impact on the course of my life. We began attending church and I heard the gospel many times. When I was ten I realized that I never put my faith and trust in Christ alone. During the next church service, I completely and clearly committed my life to Christ: repenting of my sin, trusting His completed work, and placing myself totally in His hands. When I was in the tenth grade I felt a very strong desire from the Lord to pursue youth ministry and devoted my life to that task. As a result, I have been actively involved in ministry to teens and adults since 1985.
By the Lord's grace I have had the privilege of serving in a variety of churches and ministries. Most recently, I served as pastor to junior and senior high youth at Cape Bible Chapel in Cape Girardeau, Missouri from 1992 — 2001, when I left to attend Master's Seminary in Los Angeles, CA. At the completion of seminary in 2004, God moved my family to Maryville, TN, where I am currently the teaching pastor at Grace Community Church.
I have been married to my beautiful wife Alisa since 1989. We have a son, Josiah (1995), and daughter, Johanna (2003). In 2009 it was our joyous privilege to welcome two little Haitian orphans into our home. We are currently in the process of adopting Marie (2006) and Selena (2008) and look forward to the richness and joy that they will bring to our family.
My passion is to walk in a manner worthy of my Lord, to minister within the local church, and to train others to serve Jesus with excellence, grace, and wisdom. It is my deepest desire to see Christ magnified so that all peoples and all nations might fear and worship Him as He so richly deserves.
My life verse is Hebrews 12:1-4 "Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance, and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you may not grow weary and lose heart. You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin;"