Blue Ridge Bible Church is an elder-led church. The congregation does vote to approve leadership (elders and deacons and the hiring of pastors) and the annual budget. Our elders lead our local body through prayer, teaching, counseling, and oversight.

The Deacons serve the church by taking care of practical needs and organizing service projects. Contact a deacon if you are looking for a way to volunteer.

Our staff consists of three pastors and two administrative staff.

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Staff:

Pastor Jack Gill serves as the Senior Pastor of Blue Ridge Bible Church. He graduated from Mississippi State University where he met his wife, Karen and they have been happily married since 1989. After college graduation, Jack served in the U.S. Navy as a pilot for eight years. Upon moving to Virginia in 1999, Jack was employed as a pilot for a major airline. While working in this capacity, he served God actively at Blue Ridge. In 2003, he sensed God’s call on his life and transitioned into full time ministry as the Associate Pastor at Blue Ridge–a transition he has jokingly referred to as a move “from the cock-pit to the pul-pit!” After serving in that capacity for several years, he was ordained and asked to be the Senior Pastor in 2007. Born into a loving Christian family, Jack spent most of his childhood years in Denton, Texas. He counts the legacy of a strong Christian heritage as one of the greatest blessings of his life. Having accepted Christ at a young age, he grew in his faith through the discipling he received from others in his family and church and really came to see the importance of the local church through those experiences. He is currently completing his seminary degree at Dallas Theological Seminary. Jack and Karen live in Round Hill with their sons, J.T. and Caleb, and their daughter Sarah.

Worship Pastor Tom Gossage has served in the ministry since 1993 and has been married to his wife Regina since 1992. His places of ministry include First Baptist of Temple Terrace in Tampa, Florida, a church of 1500, and Fellowship Community Church in Roanoke, a fellowship averaging 900 in worship services. Tom has served as Worship Pastor of Blue Ridge since 2006. Tom can play seven instruments: sax, keyboard, piano, guitar, bass guitar, flute, and clarinet. He is also proficient in orchestration, directing, and the technical side of audio visual.

Family and Youth Pastor Rich Shipe and his wife Christy have been a part of Blue Ridge Bible Church since its founding in 1988. Before accepting his current role as a full-time pastor, Rich had been active in the church as a deacon since 2002 and a small group leader since 1999. He has a passion for discipleship and helped start the discipleship program and LIFE Groups at the church. Until 2008, Rich had worked for most of his adult life in politics and Christian ministry including serving as the Managing Editor of Crosswalk.com. God began changing his heart toward full-time ministry, and he joyfully accepted the position of Associate Pastor at Blue Ridge on June 1, 2008. As of September 2011, Rich’s duties have been changed to overseeing LIFE Groups and leading the Youth Group as the Family and Youth Pastor. Rich has been married to Christy since 1998, and they are blessed to be able to raise their three daughters in the same church that their parents and siblings still attend.

Church Administrator Debbie Stevenson has been on staff at Blue Ridge since 1994 and has been the full-time Church Administrator since 2000. She brings a fun attitude and a quick smile, as well as a myriad of marketplace leadership skills. She was on staff at Grace Community Church in Panorama City, California before moving to Virginia to work for Christian Legal Society. She also brings planning and organizational skills from her work on a political campaign and her own meeting and wedding planning business, and uses those tools now to keep Blue Ridge working smoothly behind the scenes.

Office Assistant Julie Dodson joined the administrative staff at Blue Ridge in 2008. She works as a part-time assistant to the church administrator for bookkeeping and general office duties. When not at the church office, Julie and her husband, Chip, educate the youngest of their three children at home. The Dodson family lives in Berryville, Virginia.