Jeff Beard , MBA , MA
Senior Pastor

Senior Pastor of Falling Creek Baptist Church since November 2007. He has held senior pastorate positions in North Carolina, California, and Virginia, and associate pastorates in Tennessee and Virginia . Has earned a Master of Arts in Religion from California Graduate School of Theology, La Habras, California; Master of Business Administration Virginia Commonwealth University School of Business, Richmond, Virginia; and a Bachelor of Arts in Religion from St. Charles University at California Center for Theological Studies, Saugus, California.

He has a background in business leadership and management; a published writer and guest on The Bible Answer Man, of the Christian Research Institute (CRI); certified trainer for Evangelism Explosion International III, and evangelism trainer in The Way of the Master; and a guest speaker in churches across the nation. He places a strong emphasis on expository Biblical teaching, personal evangelism, and mentoring.

He and His wife, Lisa, are the parents of two grown children. Together, Jeff and Lisa have taught marriage courses, Biblical studies, and served in various ministry opportunities in local and para-church ministries.

“I am always amazed at the providential hand of God in our lives, in HIS Church, and in all of creation. When looking over my shoulder at HIS dealings in my own life I can easily see the spiritual milestones that mark my pilgrimage of growth in Christ. Often these milestones have been fueled or even initiated by certain books that I read. We should not be surprised that HE uses other members of the Body of Christ to move us forward in devotion towards the celestial city and to give each of us guidance and boundaries on the straight and narrow path of the Lord. Many books, of different subjects and sizes, have been like a sculpture’s chisel in my life, used for the purposes of encouraging, correcting, instructing, inspiring, and humbling me. My favorite authors include G. Campbell Morgan, R.C. Sproul, C.S. Lewis, A.W. Pink, Calvin Miller, and the Old English Puritans. It is difficult to make a short list, but I had to end it somehow."

"I remember getting a hold of a few of A.W. Pink’s books and commentaries early in my ministry training. Pink challenged my theology and study habits and I was found wanting. Other books that have marked milestones in my pilgrimage include: The Gospel According to Jesus, by John MacArthur, Jr.; The Seven Crisis of Christ, by G. Campbell Morgan (known as the Prince of Expositors); Pilgrim’s Progress, by John Bunyan; Faith Tried and Triumphed, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones; Kingdom of the Cults, by Dr. Walter Martin; Chosen by God, by R.C. Sproul; A Quest for Godliness, by J.I. Packer; and jumping up to something more recently, Church Dogmatics IV.1, by Karl Barth; Through Gates of Splendor, by Elizabeth Elliot; and Humility (True Greatness), by C.J. Mahaney."

"If you are not a book reader, I exhort you to push yourself into a great adventure. Learn to stand on the shoulders of great men and women of faith that you may see, taste, and learn from their knowledge of the light. But I also want to remind you that not all so-called Christian books are Biblical and healthy for the soul. Popularity doesn’t make a good book, truth makes a book good, and truth isn’t shouted from the roof tops like it should be these days. But remember, treasures are worth digging for, laboring for, and polishing.”

Pastor Beard is developing resources to help believers in their call to reach the lost and to grow in knowledge and grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. Check out the resource page on this site. The resources are free to download and print. If you want a printed copy sent to you, fill out the order form on that page.

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Chris Moore, CPA
Associate Pastor

Chris accepted Christ as his personal Savior as a young teenager. He was raised in Lynchburg, Virginia, where he also met and later married the love of his life, Sarah, in 1989. Chris and Sarah are blessed to be the parents of three great girls, Amanda, Melissa, and Melody.

God has given Chris a strong desire to help marriages and families and to share how God is able to bring healing to troubled marriages or broken lives. Chris’ parents are divorced, so he knows first-hand what broken homes are like. Chris has developed a marriage handbook for couples who want to prepare and/or improve their marriage. Chris is also a certified marriage preparation and enrichment trainer with FOCCUS.

After moving to Richmond, Virginia, Chris and his family joined Grove Avenue Baptist, and immediately he began teaching a marriage course. While at Grove Avenue Baptist, he taught several discipleship courses and in 2002 became the leader, teacher, and ‘mini-pastor’ of a Sunday School class. God was faithful in growing the class both spiritually and numerically over the years.

In November of 2007, Chris accepted a call to Falling Creek Baptist Church as the associate pastor. His heart is rooted in discipleship through small group classes. Chris currently leads an adult Sunday School class, where he teaches chapter-by-chapter through one of the books of the Bible, or teaches on a certain topic from God’s Word. Chris has a passion for evangelism, so you will normally see him with gospel tracts in his pocket to give out. He also loves to worship God, and leads the congregation in songs of worship and praise on Sunday mornings.

Professionally, Chris is a CPA who majored in Accounting, minored in Economics and had a course concentration in Computer Science. Chris has been in senior management for a site business at GE and has worked for the two largest Virginia state agencies. He has many years of financial, strategic planning, project management and process improvement experience. God has used these experiences to help Chris grow as a leader and prepare him for ministry.

“I want to honor God by truly putting Him first in my priorities and time. I love to spend time with God in worship, prayer, or by analyzing what He wrote to me in His Word. I also love to ‘date’ Sarah and have lots of family time with my girls. Some of my other interests are football and reading Christian books.”

“My prayer is that I can be faithful and obedient to God and become the man that He wants me to be. I want to fulfill the destiny that God has for my life. Some of my favorite scriptures are:

- 1 Cor. 10:31 “Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to 
   the glory of God.”;
- Matthew 6:33a “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness…”;
- Matthew 22:37-39 “Jesus said to him, 'You shall love the Lord your God with all 
   your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' 38This is the first and
   great commandment. 39And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor
   as yourself.’”;
- Romans 8:28 “And we know that all things work together for good to those who
   love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”; and
- John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that
  whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.’”

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