For over 20 years I walked without God.  I lived an empty, sinful, vain, and broken life.  During college (September of 1996) my life was redeemed by Jesus.  I have been forgiven.  A lot.  Seriously, a lot.  Like ten thousand talents.  My life was and is no longer my own.  I belonged to Him and desired to live a life of faith in Christ.  Back then everyone who was a cool Christian had a life verse.  Galatians 2:20 was mine.

Since then the grace of God has abounded towards me.  God has blessed me with a wise, beautiful, and kind wife named Torri! We celebrated our 26th wedding anniversary on the 4th of July this year. Yes, it is ironic that we were married on Independence Day. On a side note, I asked her to marry me four days after we met (I don’t recommend getting engaged this fast, but like I said God has been gracious to us).  Stop by my office sometime and I will tell you the story.

The Lord has blessed us with three amazing, believing daughters (Taelor, Allison, and Hailee), a son-in-law (Justin), and our first grandson (Elliott).  When asked what it is like having three daughters, I always say the same thing, “I’m surrounded by beauty”. God has been very good to my family!  

At the incredibly mature age of 22, I was asked by our pastor to serve as the Youth Pastor.  I told him I would need to pray about it, but in my mind, I had already decided the answer would be yes.  For several years I served, with my wife by my side, as a Youth Pastor.  I was confident in my call to the ministry.  At the age of 26 I believed I was ready to take on the role of Senior Pastor and plant a church.  The Lord had a different plan.  As always, the Father knew best.

Because of His incredible love and grace, God led me away from vocational ministry to work in secular fields (missions work) for 20 years.  He wanted to teach me humility, faithfulness, dependence on Him, character, and a deep love for His church.  I love God’s church.  I desire to see our local church continue to abide in Christ. My hope and prayer is to see His kingdom come and His will be done in the Bitterroot Valley as it is in heaven.

Glenn served for several years as a deacon and teacher in two previous churches before coming on board at The River Church, as Associate Pastor, where he is fondly called “The Professor".  He has developed his theology through a literal, historical narrative interpretation of the Bible, being taught and led by the Holy Spirit.

"After a failed marriage & 12 years of active duty with the Marines and Navy, I felt the mountains calling me home to Montana.  I found myself at the lowest point of my life.  After deciding to go back to school, I met my new and amazing wife, Renee.  We both came to know Jesus through pre-marriage counseling.  I have two great sons from my previous marriage and 4 amazing boys with Renee along with two of the most beautiful girls in the world.  I flew for over 17 years as an EMS helicopter pilot with St Patrick’s Hospital in Missoula while helping my in-laws farm and ranch in Corvallis."

My name is Nathan Cross and I am married to Kayla. Born and raised in Montana, it is a real blessing to work in the same field as several influential people in my life who probably changed its course forever. Growing up, several people who had the greatest impact on my life were my youth leaders. Wanting to follow in their footsteps, I attended Frontier School of the Bible and pursued a degree in youth ministry.

After marrying and moving back to Montana, I completed a youth ministry internship and then spent the next 6 years in various lines of work: Christian School Bible Teacher, Athletic Director, Maintenance Technician, and finally Mechanics which I spent 5 years in. During this time period, my wife and I quickly got plugged into volunteer youth and music ministry in Lolo and greatly enjoyed serving the Lord in these ministries. In God's timing, and God's way, He called us into full-time youth ministry at The River. We are very excited to build and invest in relationships with kids in the community and church and watch them grow as they learn more about Jesus Christ. I love to mountain bike, ski, play guitar, camp, and hunt!

"I’m the youngest of five children, Mom a Lutheran, Dad a Catholic. I was baptized as a baby and confirmed in the Lutheran church and yet I was lost and ignorant of what it meant to be “born again” and a redeemed child of God. At 26 years old and having lived my life for myself, I married my beautiful wife Linda. Shortly after our marriage, my Dad passed away. That loss, coupled with difficulty in my marriage because I still wanted to live for myself, I came to a low point in my life with no hope. My oldest brother had come to Christ and I honestly didn’t know what that meant but my wife and I both needed hope. So we decided to visit the church he was going to and some great folks came to visit us at our home where we were given the gospel message and by God’s amazing grace we accepted our Lord and Savior that wonderful night, and then was baptized because we understood what God had done.
That was about 38 years ago and our new life with Christ has been the most beautiful life we could have ever imagined with the hope of being with our Savior forever one day soon. God has been so good to us, especially bringing our beautiful daughter Katie into our lives which has been a rich blessing. We’re thankful to serve with our brothers and sisters for God’s glory to help those who are without hope to hear of the only real hope in Christ Jesus."

Larry is an Elder here at The River.  As an Elder, Larry Lee oversees the spiritual growth and direction of the church body.  
"I always believed that Jesus died on the cross for me, but I didn’t have a personal relationship with Christ until I moved in with my Dad who showed me that I need Christ as my Savior.  At that point, I began to feel the transformation of my life from a head knowledge to a heart change- transforming from being religious to being born again.  After that, with the ups and downs in my spiritual walk, I have grown closer to the Lord over time."

Tenaya joined our staff in 2021.  She has a background in administration & enjoys using her experience to serve God and others.  Tenaya is involved with Young Adults, AWANA and The River's, Turning Point USA Faith Chapter.  Outside of church, Tenaya is a devoted wife, homeschool mom, 4-H volunteer and business owner.  
 
“I was raised in a Christian home & taught about Jesus through church, homeschool and watching my parents live out their testimony.  I have been a believer ever since I can remember (2 Timothy 1:5), however I have not always lived my life in a Biblical way.  I became very lost in my identity in Christ when I left home for college.  I became depressed & suicidal.  I got pregnant when I was 20 & re-dedicated my life to Him, when the reality of becoming a parent loomed in front of me.  As a result of living my life for Him, I finished college (GO CATS!) & have an abundantly blessed life, along with my amazing husband and beautiful children!"

"I was raised in a Christian home as a pastor’s kid in Colorado and grew up serving in ministry in a variety of avenues, including worship ministry. At the age of 5, I trusted in Christ as my personal Savior at a summer VBS. Since then I have steadily grown in my walk with the Lord, seeking to use my life to serve Him as a continual act of worship. I attended Bible college at Frontier School of the Bible and studied Music Ministry so that I could further learn to use my love of music and the giftings the Lord has given me to serve Him in ministry. This is also where I met Nathan, and after graduating we married and moved to Montana.

Prior to moving to Hamilton in the summer of 2023, Nathan and I served in youth and music ministry in Lolo, MT. I am the Big Sky Regional Manager for TPUSA Faith and enjoy helping Christians to put their faith into action in their communities. I’m thankful to be at The River serving in youth and music ministry and watching the Lord transform hearts (including my own) as we all grow in our relationship with Him. In January 2024 we welcomed Haevyn, our first child, a sweet baby girl into the world and I’m blessed to be her mom!"

“I was raised Catholic home and attended Catholic schools all the way through college. At the end of my college career I found the Catholic religion empty.  The repetition and “tradition”, didn’t have any passion, so I started looking for something to fill that void, and I found Christ. "