Rick Reeves, Lead Pastor

Spouse/Kids:  Ali and I have been married since 2011 and our two daughters are Joey and Brooks and our son is Rowan.

Testimony:  I started following Jesus when I was 23 years old.  I literally woke up one morning and said, "Okay God, I'm going to try you out, so please help me."  That was not quite the “sinner’s prayer” you will find on your evangelism track.  I started attending Roseburg Christian Fellowship and a few months later my mom and I were baptized together in the Umpqua River.  I don't remember the exact date my heart was awakened to the Gospel.  I didn't write it in a book, carve it on a tree, or change my FB status to Christian, and it wasn't until I moved to Reno in 2007 to chase a career in mixed martial arts (MMA) that my heart was gripped by the Gospel. 

I attended a church called Living Stones, which was passionate about declaring the Gospel.  Shortly after, my desire for MMA faded and my new desire was to preach the Gospel and plant a church back in Oregon.  In February of 2015 the six year training and preparation process came to an end and Living Stones sent our family to plant Gospel Community Church.

Evidences of Grace:  The biggest evidence of grace in my life was moving to Reno.  I hated Reno, and I know hate is a strong word, but dislike falls short.  I wanted so bad to get out of there but at the same time felt like God was calling me to settle in. I was thinking a year, but God was thinking more like eight.  I wouldn't exchange those eight years for anything.  It was there I grew in a deeper understanding of the gospel, understood the importance of community, met my wife, had our first child, was equipped for ministry, was challenged to face my past, and grew to understand the importance of transparency.  

Favorite Book(s): The book that's had the biggest impact on me is probably Gospel Wakefulness or Jesus Plus Nothing=Everything, but my favorite is probably The Prodigal God.  I'm currently reading Saturate and Leading with Love.  

Favorite Movie: My favorite movie and probably the movie I quote the most is Dumb and Dumber, and my favorite quote from it would be, "but what if they shot you in the face?"  

Hobbies/Interests: My hobbies or what I enjoy the most are dates and mini vacations with my wife, spending time with my family, and hunting.  Since God gave me girls, I'm hoping one of them takes up my passion for hunting since I've taking up their passions for dance parties, playing kitchen, and grocery store checkout.  I think if you saw me doing ballet with them you would agree that it's a fair tradeoff.  

Obscure Facts/Secrets: I share this with a lot of reservation but my nick names throughout my life have been "Big Dog," "Bubs," and "RICKY!!!" if I was in trouble. My fight nick names were "The Holy Terror," and "Pretty Ricky."  For the record, I had no say in any of these!

I want my GCC family to know:  My greatest passion is the gospel and my heart’s desire is to preach and share the gospel with as many people as I can with the time God gives me.  I love our church family and have been blown away by what God has done at GCC and look forward to what he has in store.  

I moved to Eugene in 2013 to attend the University of Oregon, and got plugged into The Good Fight and University Fellowship Church. I started hearing the gospel every week, and grew in my love for Jesus and his church in the context of that community. 

Evidences of Grace:  Over the years I’ve seen kids from my hometown graduate and move away, only to struggle to make it in the “real world” and end up back on the farm. There’s nothing wrong with ending up back on the family farm, but I am very thankful that in God’s grace he gave me a community and a family in Eugene to help me grow up in my faith. Moving to “the big city” of Eugene was a culture shock, but God knew what he was doing placing me here, around awesome people that have had a huge impact on my life. 

Favorite Book(s): Gentle and Lowly by Dane Ortlund, Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton

Favorite Movie: Gladiator, and the best quote is, “My name is Maximus Decimus Meridius, commander of the Armies of the North, General of the Felix Legions, loyal servant to the true emperor, Marcus Aurelius. Father to a murdered son, husband to a murdered wife. And I will have my vengeance, in this life or the next.” Man. I even got chills typing that out. I also love Hot Rod, and the best quote from it is, “Cool beans.”  

Hobbies/Interests: I love to hunt, fish, camp and be outside. My wife and I like to travel and explore new places, and we are excited to do that even more as a family of 3! 

Obscure Facts/Secrets: I played sports in high school, but my greatest accolades didn’t come from athletics. I was part of the National FFA organization (future farmers of America) and I was a 4 time state champion soil judger. I even competed at the national level in Oklahoma City my senior year. 

I want my GCC family to know: I am continually impressed with this family’s authenticity, faithfulness, and love for the gospel. Everyone is so genuine, and embodies the church’s mission to make Jesus the hero. Thank you for welcoming Jenna, Riggs, and me into your family so warmly, and for supporting us as we get settled in here at GCC. 

As acceptance letters came, I was devastated to find that the school I could afford was my third choice school: Messiah College (now Messiah University). It was a great school, but not my first choice. Little did I know, God would shape me through relationships, experiences, and faithful professors and pastors into someone passionate about building the Kingdom of God here on earth.

During my second year of college, I had a strong call to switch my major to Christian Ministry. After graduating with a concentration in youth ministry, I see how God has used both the most exciting, happy times as well as the sad and disappointing times of my life to lead me into doing His work in the context of local church ministry!

Evidences of Grace: My wife, Hannah, is a huge blessing to me. She challenges me to be a better person, encourages me when I’m down, and stands by me through thick and thin. She is the reason we are here in Eugene! Our move to Oregon was something that challenged both of us, but in the end, was a huge evidence of God’s grace. He provided us with the finances to move out here, an affordable place to live, a steady job before we even moved, and led us to a church that not only deepened our understanding of the truth of the Gospel, but is a community that we are able to call family.

Favorite Book(s): Any C.S. Lewis book.

Favorite Movie: There are too many good movies in the world, but I distinctly remember loving “The Italian Job” growing up. It is still a fantastic movie.

Hobbies/Interests: I love running, biking, hiking, backpacking, skateboarding, and baseball (go Sox). Aside from those sports, I really enjoy watching/critiquing movies, listening to and making music, and learning about/using new tech.

Obscure Facts/Secrets: I have a dream of living in a van with Hannah, living off the grid, and becoming a YouTuber.

I want my GCC family to know: I have a passion for worshiping God, through all means. Music, prayer, reading of Scripture, listening to sermons, and even the way we live our lives. My biggest prayer for GCC is that we embrace a lifestyle of worship, not only viewing worship as singing on Sunday mornings. I am grateful that I have a role in the music and tech side of communal worship and look forward to worshiping through the lives we lead together! (Come talk to me about what worship means to you!)

It wasn’t until my 11th grade year that I knew what that meant. My parents, for reasons they did not feel necessary to share at the time, decided to leave our home church and join another church. At this time I was deeply involved in my youth ministry as a worship leader for my peers. At this time I made the decision to continue to attend and lead at this church while my parents became members elsewhere.

That same year is when I felt a call to vocational ministry. I had been involved in music since I was four years old, and I knew that I wanted to be involved in leading people in the worship of our Lord for the rest of my life, and if I could devote all of my time to that, that’s what I wanted to do. So, I applied to Baylor University to enroll in their Church Music program and graduated from this program in 2021. I moved back to Houston where I worked full time at the church that started my faith journey. After 2.5 of learning everything that I wished that I learned at Baylor, I moved up to Eugene to begin working here at GCC.

Evidences of Grace: I was 21 years old when COVID began. My junior year of college was disrupted entirely, right around the time when I was supposed to start my internships and get my true hands-on experience in my major. Summer of 2020 when I received the email that school was starting back, I had a complete breakdown. I didn’t see any path to work in any church around me and I decided that I would create my own path, fully give up on trusting in the Lord’s timing. In February of 2021, 2(ish) months before graduating, I got a call from my home church in Houston, declaring that they were beginning the search for a worship leader. It was a beautiful reminder of the grace and sufficiency of the Lord, even when I forget it and try to do things in my own understanding and with my own strength.

Favorite Book(s): Worship Matters by Bob Kauflin and The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson

Favorite Movie: I’m a big fan of movies and I genuinely cannot come up with my favorite in this moment.

Hobbies/Interests: I really wish I had more outdoor activities to list here, but I come from the land of heat and humidity where it was a chore to go outside at any time. I love cooking, listening to audiobooks, and the occasional video game.

Obscure Facts/Secrets: I had horribly ingrown toenails growing up, to the point that a podiatrist recommended I get two of them removed. So my two big toes do not have toenails.

I want my GCC family to know: I am so incredibly excited to get to come alongside all of you in worshiping the Lord together. I am deeply passionate about worshipping the Lord and I hope to have worship permeate everything that I do in life.

This was the first time I noticed there was something different about this group of people. I had one friend in particular that would always share the gospel with me and eventually, I took her up on her offer to come to church. I certainly felt uncomfortable in the beginning, but I knew that learning about the truth of the gospel and developing a relationship with God was something I was being called to pursue.

Evidences of Grace: My biggest evidence of grace is simply just being at GCC. The fact that I grew up with so much doubt to now being one to share my faith with others is only possible because of God. My second evidence of grace is the community that I’ve found myself in. Eugene is not a place I saw myself staying long term, but the people that surround our family are what keep us here.

Favorite Book(s): There’s No Such Thing as Bad Weather by Linda Åkeson McGurk (I listen to a lot of podcasts, I don’t have much time for reading!)

Favorite Movie: Not a big movie person.

Hobbies/Interests: CrossFit and renovating our house are the two biggest ones! I also love to ski, ride my bike, and garden.

Obscure Facts/Secrets: I really love organizing and using my calendar to plan ahead.

I want my GCC family to know: I have loved being part of GCC for the last few years and it feels like a gift to be able to help our church grow in a different area. I am excited to see how God develops our Kids Ministry in the future!

Evidences of Grace: My evidence of grace is meeting the Reeves at another church and deciding to join their church plant. This decision has been life changing.

Favorite Book(s): Voice of the heart, Gay girl Good God, Redeeming love

Favorite Movie: I Love You Man (not suggesting), Sweet home Alabama, The Help

Hobbies/Interests: Cooking, spending time with my family, good conversations, walking my dogs, CrossFit and wine tasting.

Obscure Facts/Secrets: I love my routines. If one thing is different in my morning routine it really throws me off. 

I want my GCC family to know: I don’t particularly enjoy small talk. I love to get to the heart of people. I love to listen and share and point people to their identity in Jesus. I’m excited and honored to get to know, walk with and serve the women of GCC.

Evidences of Grace: I got married pretty young - I was 21 years old. I think God knew I needed to get married in order to grow me in certain ways. Through marriage I have learned that only Jesus can satisfy me, and how my identity as a child of God is everything.

Favorite Book(s): I love a good fiction or memoir (Saving My Assassin, The Last Sin Eater) . To be honest, I’m not a huge reader, but I still have hope to become one. 

Favorite Movie: I’m more of a TV watcher than a movie watcher, but Dumb and Dumber will always be near and dear to me. And also The Heat- I’m a Sandra Bullock fan. 

Hobbies/Interests: I like to have a home project going at all times. I enjoy interior design, roaming stores, volleyball, sunrises and sunsets (I love blue skies and sunshine), and traveling with my fam. 

Obscure Facts/Secrets: Here it goes: I was a Girl Scout until I graduated high school. 

I want my GCC family to know: I am blown away by the awesome community God has provided us since planting the church almost 6 years ago. This might sound crazy, but every Sunday I thank God that I still enjoy going to church.

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