Pastor Ronald Riffe

By the wonderful grace of God I was born into a Christian family in rural Alabama on August, 13, 1939, just as World War II was getting started. My Dad worked as a machinist in the shipyards of Mobile during the war and my mother stayed at home with me. After the usual early years of schooling, I attended the University of Alabama seeking a degree in Mechanical Engineering. As many young men do, I later dropped out of college to enter the U.S. Air Force where I trained as a Tactical Missile Guidance technician on the MGM-13A "MACE" missile (an early version of today's cruise missiles). Just prior to leaving for a tour of duty in West Germany, my sweetheart Rubye and I were married and spent a two-year honeymoon at Uncle Sam's expense! We have been happily married for nearly 36 years and our two daughters and their husbands have presented us with 5 beautiful grandchildren.

In 1965 I was discharged from the military and soon thereafter was employed by a government contractor to work in the NASA Test Lab at George C. Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. We took acoustic data on the SATURN moon rocket firings and maintained the instrumentation trailers used to transport the various rocket stages to Cape Canaveral. Later on, I spent several years installing and maintaining electronic security equipment for the U.S. Army at Redstone Arsenal. My final work years, prior to entering the ministry full time, were spent with the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) at the Brown's Ferry Nuclear Plant as an Instrument tech.

For most of my adult life I was involved in the work of our church, as an usher, teaching Sunday School (Jr. Boys, College Age, Adult Auditorium Class) and as a deacon.

In 1989 God called me into the ministry and I was ordained by Faith Baptist Church in Decatur, Alabama. Subsequently, I enrolled with Bethany Bible College in a correspondence program and earned a bachelor's degree in Bible. Since 1990 I have been privileged to serve two churches as their pastor.

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God bless you.