Our Pastors
Rusty Williams
senior Pastor
Rusty Williams accepted the call to serve as Senior Pastor of the Chattanooga First Seventh-day Adventist Church in January 2020. He is an ordained minister with 30 years of pastoral experience in the Georgia-Cumberland Conference. Rusty brings a wealth of knowledge, skills, and energy to our congregation and community, and he is helping us move forward as we work with God to minister to the spiritual needs of the greater Chattanooga area.
Following his conversion, Rusty responded to the Lord's call to ministry, graduating cum laude from Southern College of Seventh-day Adventists in 1993 with a B.A. in Religion (Ministerial) and a minor in Biblical Languages. While at Southern, he received the Excellence in Biblical Greek award. He continued his education at the Andrews University Theological Seminary, where he earned his Master of Divinity in 1995.
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Rusty and his wife, Vanessa, have two children: Stephen and Courtney. One of Rusty’s passions is participating in short-term mission projects, which have taken him to Russia, India, Tanzania, Ethiopia, and Costa Rica. In addition to spending time with Vanessa and their family, Rusty enjoys model rocketry, muscle cars, home repairs, climbing lighthouses, and hiking to waterfalls.
Chris lopez
Associate Pastor
Chris Lopez joined the Chattanooga First Seventh-day Adventist church January 7, 2023. In December, 2022 he graduated Magna Cum Laude, with his BA in Theology from Southern Adventist University. Along with honors, Chris was also awarded recognition as an “Outstanding Ministerial Candidate” and "Excellence in Biblical Greek" in his graduating class.
Chris' passion in ministry is sharing God through preaching, personal Bible study and helping people connect to the transforming power and grace of Christ in a practical way.
In his free time he enjoys a variety of outdoor activities.