Pastor Bryan Elliott, Senior Pastor, has served churches in Washington, West Virginia and Oregon before coming to Shelbyville, TN. He and his wife Teresa have worked with people over the years to develop relationships centered around Jesus Christ. Most recently Bryan was the Senior Pastor of First Christian Church in Ontario, Oregon were he served for over seven years. Prior to that he was Associate Pastor for Youth and Christian Education at First Christian Church in Princeton, West Virginia where he served for over four years. And prior to that he was a Youth Pastor at Greenwood Christian Church where he served for three years and was in lay leadership for over seven.Pastor Bryan has a B.S. from the University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon. He was working towards a Masters of Education from Whitworth College in Guidance and Counseling but that was interrupted by a ministry opportunity in working with youth. Pastor Bryan later continued his education at Emmanuel School of Religion in Johnson City, Tennessee where he received his Masters of Divinity. in 1998 and was ordained into ministry that same year.
Bryan and Teresa are the proud parents of two adult children, Nathan and Samantha.
Bryan describes his vision of ministry as this: "I see myself as a servant leader and my call is to help people see the words of the Bible as God's special message to each one of us; to see the stories of the Bible as our stories. It is my desire, my passion, for people to fall in love with Jesus and to grow in relationship with Him and with each other. Truly we are called to love; it is our greatest calling; it is our greatest love story and the greatest battle of our lives: a battle for our hearts and the hearts of those who we come into contact with everyday. It is my desire to enter into this battle, this love story, with you. Furthermore, it is my desire for us to grow in relationship with Jesus and with each other. My desire is that people will know us, First Christian Church, as a place that loves and cares for every person just a Christ himself showed love for those around Him."
