VIOLET BAPTIST CHURCH STAFF

Seated (left to right): William Lawler, Pastor of Worship; Barbara Krenelka, Secretary; Rick Williams, Senior Pastor; Brian Naess, Pastor of Outreach & Assimilation.
Standing (left to right): Emily Perkins, Administrator; Keith Hurt, Pastor of Youth; Jenny Ament, Children's Ministry Director.

OUR PASTORS

RICK WILLIAMS, SENIOR PASTOR

Bio: I was born in Ashland, Kentucky in 1957 and moved to Columbus, OH in 1967. I trusted Christ as my personal Savior in May, 1980. I married my wife Lisa in October of that year and together we have three daughters, a grandson and twin granddaughters. I received God’s call on my life to full time ministry while serving as a deacon and Sunday School director at Westgate Baptist Church in 1987. I graduated from Boyce Bible College in 1992 and Circleville Bible College in 2002. I have had the privilege of being the Senior Pastor at Violet Baptist Church since October 1996.

Purpose: I exist to have a personal, intimate love relationship with Jesus…everything flows from that.

Life Verse: Hebrews 12:1-2
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

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BRIAN NAESS, PASTOR OF OUTREACH AND ASSIMILATION

Bio: I was born in Berlin, Vermont on July 8, 1974. I attended Christian school, K-12, and then graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Bible from Cedarville University in 1997. While at Cedarville, I was a member of the Cedarville Township Volunteer Fire Department where I served as chaplain, captain, training officer, and I am now an Honorary Member. I married my wife Sarah on March 10, 2001 and we have three children.

Purpose: To glorify God in all I do. Denying myself daily, having a radical faith in Him that through my life others would see HIM.

Life Verse: Philippians 3:7-14
But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ ⁹and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

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KEITH HURT, PASTOR OF YOUTH

Bio: I grew up in Reynoldsburg, Ohio. I became a Christian as a senior in high school. I attended Cedarville College, where I met my wife Debbie. I worked for 16 years with the Franklin County Board of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities. My wife and I worked with the youth group at East Side Grace Brethren Church for over 11 years before coming to Violet Baptist Church. My wife Debbie and I have 3 daughters.

WILLIAM LAWLER, PASTOR OF WORSHIP

Bio: I was born in Indianapolis, Indiana in 1981, where I lived until I left for college. At the age of four, I realized that my sin separated me from God and that I consequently wouldn't go to heaven. I asked Jesus to be my personal Lord and Savior at that young age and have continued to grow in Him ever since. During my sophomore year of High School, I sensed God's call on my life to go into full-time worship ministry. I pursued this calling with my education at Cedarville University (B.A. in Pre-Seminary Bible, 2004) and by serving as Worship Pastor at Northside Baptist Church in Lebanon, Ohio. While at Northside, I was licensed and ordained as a minister. In June of 2005, I married my wife, Samantha. In 2009, I completed my Masters degree in Worship Studies from Liberty University. God called me to serve as Violet's Worship Pastor in March of 2009.

Photography by Kevin Deskins