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LEADERSHIP
Jesus Christ alone is head of the church. He, however, exercises his care through elders appointed to oversee the church primarily in providing spiritual care. This group of men includes the pastor, who is the teaching elder, along with others who serve together with the pastor as ruling elders. The deacons make up another office in the church, serving alongside the elders, whose responsibility is in the area of mercy and caring for the outward needs of our congregation.
ELDERS
BRYAN RIGG
Bryan grew up near Lancaster, PA, and came to Lynchburg to study at Liberty University, where he met and married his wife, Kate. After earning his degree, they moved to Philadelphia for his studies at Westminster Theological Seminary before returning to Lynchburg, where Bryan served at Mercy’s sister church for five years. He later joined Mercy as assistant and associate pastor and was called as head pastor in February 2020.
Bryan and Kate have two children and their family ministers through foster care, having cared for five additional children in long-term placements. In his free time, Bryan enjoys house projects (he’s flipped 10 homes), playing basketball, coaching volleyball, cheering on his kids on their sports teams, exploring National Parks, and spending summers at the lake.
KEITH PECK
Pastor Emeritus
DEACONS
STAFF
JEREMIAH SHEETS
Jeremiah is from Palm Beach County, Florida. In 2002 he began serving in his home church, Wellington Presbyterian Church, leading worship for the youth ministry. Falling in love and feeling called to ministry work he spent several years doing worship, youth ministry, and serving as a deacon. In 2014 he felt called to church planting and spent 6 years working with two church plants in Palm Beach County. Jeremiah started working at Mercy Pres in August of 2020 as the Director of Music and Youth.
Jeremiah and his wife Kandy have been married since 2008. They have four children Jemma (2011), Malachi (2014), Jewel (2017), and Gideon (2019). They love being outside together and have gladly traded the beaches of South Florida for the mountains of Virginia!
EMILEE ELLSWORTH
Emilee grew up in Orlando, FL, and moved to Lynchburg in 2009 to attend Liberty University. The following year, she met her husband, Mike, who now serves as a deacon at Mercy, where they have been members since 2016. They were married in the snow in January of 2016.
The Ellsworths and their children, Juliana and Jonas, live in Bedford and enjoy spending time together outdoors.
Emilee has been part of our administrative staff since 2019.
STEPHEN JOSHUA
Stephen is originally from Lancaster, PA. He moved to Lynchburg in 2009 with his family and began working for Liberty in 2016, where he is currently a System Administrator in the IT department.
Stephen has attended Mercy since 2017, where he began serving on our worship team, first as a guitar and cajon player. As his expertise in managing our sound needs grew, along with his love of sound and technology, he was hired on staff in 2018 as our Sound Team Manager.
Stephen married his high school sweetheart, Liz, in 2019. The two love hiking and working on cars together, and are expecting their first child to join their family this spring!
NATE FOWLER
Nate grew up in both Ecuador, South America and Bangor, ME. From 2010-2014, Nate studied Worship Music at Liberty University, then worked for Mercy Pres. as Director of Music and Youth from 2017-2020, before being sent by Mercy to Westminster Theological Seminary, where he received an MDiv in 2024.
Nate now returns to Mercy as a Pastoral Intern (the Book of Church Order calls this “candidate for the Gospel Ministry”), to help in a host of pastoral capacities for the benefit of Mercy, her community, and as training for his future pastoral ministry.
Please pray for him and his wife, Katie, and two sons, Justus and Salem, as the Lord guides and directs them through this internship.
MEAGAN JOHNSTON
Meagan grew up as an “Army brat” before her family settled in Alpharetta, Georgia. She studied Psychology at the University of Kentucky and earned her MSOT from Eastern Kentucky University. Meagan and her husband, Ben, moved to the area to raise their two sons. The Johnstons live in Rustburg and enjoy exploring the Blue Ridge Mountains, quiet afternoons at home with their pet bird, and visiting both sets of parents.
Meagan has a heart for supporting families. Her family was drawn to Mercy in 2024 by its warm-hearted fellowship and commitment to faithful biblical teaching.
Meagan joined the staff in 2026 and is thrilled to serve our youngest members and their parents.
LINDA WAUGH
Linda was born in Central Florida, is the youngest of 4, and has an identical twin. She grew up in Southern California due to her dad being a Chaplain in the Navy. Linda eventually moved back to Florida, graduated from UCF and after college worked at CRU headquarters in Orlando.
While there she was set up by her mom’s best friend on a date who became her husband, Jonathan Waugh. They have been married almost 28 years and have three adult children – Alia (2000), Ian (2002) and Adria (2003).
Jonathan is a Professor at Liberty University which is what brought them to Virginia in 2020. They joined Mercy shortly after and enjoy living in Virginia. Linda joined the Mercy staff in September 2024.