About RicK
Rick Harris is a native of Salem, Virginia, having lived in the Roanoke Valley for all but 10 years, as he served as Student Minister in Ohio and Kentucky as well. Rick has a passion for one-on-one conversation with other student pastors as well as students who feel called into the ministry. He has been at his current church for almost 12 years and recently finished his Doctorate of Ministries degree, with a focus on Pastoral Leadership, through Liberty University.
Although he was called into the ministry as a 14 year old teenager, he did not follow through with attending college until after marriage and the birth of his first child. He received his Church Ministries degree with a Youth Ministry concentration in 1987, while working full-time in a management position, and part-time as a youth minister. He received his Masters of Religious Education from Liberty University in 1991. Rick and his wife, Jeri, have 4 children and 5 grandchildren; all of whom live within four hours of Roanoke.
“Follow me as I follow Christ”
I Corinthians 11:1
Rick’s life verse comes from I Corinthians 11:1 “Follow me as I follow Christ”. He encourages the students to focus on the life of Jesus, to make sure he is following Christ, and follow Christ themselves. Throughout his ministry he has felt that students can be examples for other believers, even to adults, as 1 Timothy 4:12 states.
Rick’s desire is to continue serving as a Student Minister in the local church, while also looking to assist the greater church body by consulting and mentoring. He has a desire for youth ministers to catch the vision that they can be in student ministry for the long haul, dispelling the myth that they will “age out”. He also wants to assist and inform church committee members, and others, to recognize the different characteristics as the student minister ages and how this knowledge can be used to find a better fit when searching for a youth minister.