Steve grew up in East Tennessee and went to grad school at Dallas Theological Seminary in Texas. He has been a pastor since 1993 and has served in TN, TX, GA, and joined our team in November. Steve has spent lots of time with young adults and has a passion to see them lead the church. He’s good with his hands and enjoys dabbling in graphic arts and guitar. He speaks Spanish badly but is fluent with a computer. He and Wendy like to travel, and she is a better teacher than he is.

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Steve and Wendy met through the youth ministry where Steve came to Christ. They served together and married in 1993. Wendy has taught in the public school system and led in kids ministry. She likes to spend the summer remodeling the house or sitting on the beach. They’re good at both of those.

Steve and Wendy have three beautiful daughters: Meg is studying Graphic Design at the University of Georgia, Madison is studying nursing at Florida Southwestern, and Kenzie just got her driver’s license. Two of them love soccer. One loves mountain biking!

Steve considers himself a teacher and dreamer with a passion for both evangelism and discipleship. He believes Jesus ministered in ways that engaged both the lost and the found. He believes the Church belongs to Jesus, so it should serve and reach all the people Jesus loved—both devout and desperate.

LEAD PASTOR

Steve Pruitt

Mike was born and raised in Huntington,WV. He and his wife Julie met in Lexington, KY and dated for three months before they were engaged. They have been married for over 20 years. Together they have one son, Ethan.

Mike joined the staff in January of 2018 and serves as the Worship and Creative Arts Pastor as well as a member of the Senior Leadership Team. Mike primary role is leading and developing the teams that create and carry out the Sunday morning worship experiences at Riverside.  

Mike is passionate about helping people find Jesus and seeing them flourish in their giftedness to build the Kingdom of God. He enjoys Mexican food, family adventures and hanging at beach with Julie. The top 3 songs on his playlist are: Build My Life by Passion, Do It Again by Elevation Worship, and All Hail King Jesus by Jeremy Riddle.   

MikeParkerMusic.org

PASTOR OF CORPORATE & CREATIVE ARTS

MIKE PARKER

Matt was born and raised right here in Florida. He and his wife Jess tied the knot in March of 2014 and had their first son, Kai Brave Nations, in September of 2018!

Matt joined the staff in January of 2014 and serves as Executive Director of Community. He and his team lead the charge in equipping our church to Make and Send Disciples. Matt also oversees our Missions and Guest Services on Sunday mornings.

Matt is passionate about walking beside others and seeing Jesus break chains and bring freedom! He enjoys running, watching sports, and a good cup of coffee. The top 3 songs on his playlist are: Beyond The Blue by Josh Garrels, Glory by Dermot Kennedy, and When Heaven Breaks Through by Community Music.

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF COMMUNITY

Matt Nations

Ursula was born and raised in Ohio, Go Bucks! She and her family moved to Fort Myers from Aurora, Illinois just over 5 years ago. Ursula and her husband Taylor have 2 amazing daughters, Leah and Raegan, plus an equally amazing dog named Moses.

Ursula joined the staff in October 2014. She currently serves as the Director of Operations and is a member of the Senior Leadership Team.

She loves spending time with her family and friends, going to the beach and watching movies.

DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS

Ursula Schenone

Cory grew up in Corpus Christi Texas, the land of Whataburger, breakfast tacos, and Selena. He lived there until moving to Atlanta in 2014 to continue his vocation in student ministry. The best part of this move was finding and marrying his beautiful wife, Kara. They tied the knot in early 2018 and adopted an adorable (and evil) cat named Elise six months later. 

Cory joined the staff in August of 2019 and serves as the Student Pastor. His heart beats for discipleship, relationships, preaching, and having fun. He believes all of these things can slowly and silently change the world. 

When Cory’s not at the church you can find him reading, writing, skateboarding, watching a movie, or wandering through Magic Kingdom with his Disney-obsessed wife. 

STUDENT PASTOR

CORY ATKINSON

Robie was born and raised in the small town of Lisbon, Ohio. He has been married to Mariela, his wife, for 13 years. Their first 6 years of marriage were very rough and he wasn’t a very good man; but God saved and continues to show and empower Robie how to choose to be a better man. The most recent 7 years have been filled with love, intimacy, companionship and trust.

Robie joined the team in August 2018, after spending 4 years in Facilities Maintenance for a resort on Sanibel Island, Florida. He now works closely with leadership to keep the building and grounds in order.

Though he prefers being a night owl, he enjoys coffee during the sunrise. He has a calling for teaching men how to walk with the Lord and loves a ribeye drowned in bleu cheese- you know, just to make sure the cow is, in fact, dead.

FACILITIES MANAGER

ROBIE BERG

Richard and his wife, Annie are both from Indiana. Richard grew up in Indianapolis where he served as a firefighter for 30 years. He grew up close to his Dad and older Brother. He was taught how to design, repair, and build all sorts of projects including construction and custom cars. After retiring in 2006, he and Annie decided to take time to travel the states. Annie has been a nurse for 30 years which allowed them to do Travel Nursing. 

They both love the outdoors and all the adventures that come with it. They enjoy backpacking and camping, biking and kayaking, the beach and the mountains. Volunteering is a real passion for both of them. Serving other people, hearing their stories and sharing in life with them is so important. They always try to bring hope, love and compassion for those in need.   

Richard and Annie have four children, seven grandchildren and one dog named Tator. Annie grew up in Northern Indiana with lake effect snow. After working a travel job in Naples, she and Richard decided to buy a home in sunny Florida. They found that they can be active outside all year long. But the best thing they found was Riverside Church. They discovered that the people inside were just like family. 

Once they both retire, their desire is to serve in crisis situations, whether in the states or abroad.    

FACILITIES ASSISTANT

Richard Craig

Jazzy was born and raised right here in Southwest Florida and Riverside has been her church home since she was in kids ministry! She was a leader in Student Ministry and has been a very active part of our worship team on Sunday Mornings and our Young Adult Ministry. 

Jazzy joined the Riverside Staff in winter of 2018.  She loves all things Disney, McDonalds Cokes, and discipleship!  Currently her favorite worship song is "Take Courage"  by Bethel Worship.

FAMILY MINISTRIES COORDINATOR

Jazzy Ferrer

Linda is a Pastor’s Kid, born and raised in Brooklyn, New York.  She and her husband Oscar have been married 25 years and have two children, Joshua and Jazlyn.

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The Ferrers have been partnering with Riverside Church since August of 2002 and in October 2016 Linda became Riverside’s Part-time Bookkeeper.

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She enjoys painting rocks, spending time with her family and singing.  The top 3 songs on her playlist are: Endless Love by Diana Ross & Lionel Richie, Africa by Toto, and Revelation Song sung by Kari Jobe.

BOOKKEEPER

Linda Ferrer

Cody joined our staff in June of 2018 as a Resident and is currently studying Ministry Leadership at Southeastern University. He has a passion for using technology and art to reach people with the Gospel.

He serves in our Creative Arts Department overseeing Sunday morning production and also works with our executive team to design and execute technical projects in both the Audio Visual and Information Technology spaces. Cody plans video production working with a team of volunteers to write and shoot announcements, event promos, and testimony videos.

Cody's long term call is to become a pastor, and Lord willing, one day a lead pastor.

CREATIVE ARTS TECH DIRECTOR

Cody franklin

Kirstin was born and raised in the beautiful city of Grand Rapids, Michigan. After college, she worked at her home church in Grand Rapids with young adult and college students. Through her ministry she developed a passion to see college students live into the fullness of the calling God has placed on their lives and be disciple makers on their campuses.

This spring Kirstin moved to Fort Myers with a dream in her head and a cat in her arms. She is thrilled to be a part of Riverside church and see God at work through the people here. Kirstin loves Jesus, cats, and waffles.

EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT

Kirstin Herbruck

Peggy was born and raised North Port, Florida. She moved to Fort Myers in 2011 to attend Florida Gulf Coast University and decided to make it home. 

Prior to joining the staff in August 2017, Peggy taught 5th grade at a local elementary school. Now, as the Director of Kids Ministry, she works closely with the Family Ministries Team and the Riverside Kids Volunteers as they help children and families learn to love and live like Jesus. 

Peggy is passionate about children (and adults) knowing Jesus and experiencing His love. She often roots for the underdog, enjoys traveling, exploring unique coffee shops and bookstores, and taking naps. 

DIRECTOR OF KIDS MINISTRY

Peggy orlando

Donna was born and raised in Rochester, NY. She and her husband, Bob, moved to Fort Myers in 2015 to be closer to family with the added benefit of escaping the snow and cold!

Donna and Bob have two children, Jessie and Rob.  Jessie and her husband, Doug, live in Brooklyn and their son, Rob, lives in New Mexico.

Donna came on staff at Riverside in March of 2019. Before moving to Fort Myers, Donna served at her home church in Student Ministry as a Ministry Coordinator. Donna serves here at Riverside as Adult Ministries Assistant.

Donna loves Jesus and people and she enjoys golfing, exercising, and the beautiful Southwest Florida weather!

ADULT MINISTRIES ASSISTANT

Donna Schnall

Carole grew up on the Jersey shore, but fell in love with Florida during college and decided to stay! Carole and Rich have been married for 22 years and count daughters Julianna and Olivia as their most incredible blessings. Julianna is a brand new student at USF in Tampa, and Olivia is studying dance at Cypress Lake High School's Center for the Arts. Carole and Rich are blessed to lead an amazing Life Group, who they call family as well. Traveling is a must when she gets the chance and no matter what, spending time with family is her favorite thing to do.

As Guest Services Coordinator, Carole enjoys being a utility player here at Riverside. She loves helping people get connected to serve God and others in the various areas of ministry. Helping people feel valued, appreciated and at home at Riverside makes her heart happy.

GUEST SERVICES COORDINATOR

carole zeltman