Church Staff
At Grace Baptist, we believe all members are ministers of the Church.
Rev. Lauryn Everic, Acting Senior Pastor lauryn@rvagrace.org
Rev. Lauryn Everic was born and raised in the Richmond area and received her M.Div. from George W. Truett Theological Seminary. While she has a background in Children’s and Youth Ministry, nonprofit work, and hospital chaplaincy, she finds the most joy in building authentic relationships and finding new and creative ways to worship meaningfully. Lauryn feels the most inspired when she is painting, dancing, enjoying the outdoors, and finding innovative ways to incorporate the arts into worship. Outside of church, she is likely spending time with family or in the middle of a good story while curled up with her cat, Ollie, and a cup of tea.
Rev. Chris Crowley, Minister of Music chris@rvagrace.org
Rev. Chris Crowley, Minister of Music, is a huge fan of how Grace embraces blending old and new, showing how perhaps new wine hymn texts actually can be used with old hymn tune wineskins. He also loves how Grace values heterodoxy over orthodoxy, that is the understanding that there are many ways to be "correct." His favorite music lyrics come from the beginning of Leonard Bernstein's Simple Song, "Sing God a simple song, lauda laude. Make it up as you go along," and the end of Isaac Watts' My Shepherd Will Supply My Need, "No more a stranger, nor a guest, but like a child at home." Chris appreciates any hymn that encourages the singer to be the best, most just, version of themselves, and any hymn that helps the singer to understand God in a new way.
Rev. Crowley is a proud alumnus of Virginia Commonwealth University (Bachelor of Music Education, 2006), Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond (2015-2018), and John Leland Center for Theological Studies (Master of Divinity, 2020). While at BTSR, he was awarded both the John Grover Scales award for Preaching, as well as the Deborah Carlton Loftis award for Music Ministry. He was also named a 2019 Fellow of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, and now serves on the BJC Board of Directors. After finishing his studies at Leland, Chris was ordained by Chamberlayne Baptist Church in 2021, where he served as Music Minister from 2015 until the Church's closing in 2021. Prior to being called to Chamberlayne, Chris was a soloist and section leader at Seventh Street Christian Church since 2003.
Chris is the "junior pastor" of the house, alongside his wife, Reverend Kim Crowley, who was ordained by Grace Baptist in 2010. Together they have three children, Erica, Savannah, and David. They live in the Westover Hills neighborhood with their dogs Iris and Chance. Chris works full time for Colonial Scientific, specializing in medical and educational laboratory sales. In the few hours Chris doesn't spend working or parenting, he hopes to be sleeping or watching Star Trek.
Katie Rogers, Family Ministry Associate
katie@rvagrace.org
Katie Rogers was born and raised in the Richmond area, and grew up in the children and youth ministries at Grace. Currently, she is a student at VCU pursuing a major in psychology. Katie is passionate about music, early childhood development, her cat, Kunai, and collaging. She loves spending time with the littles at Grace inside and outside of church. When she isn’t babysitting, you can find her at a live music concert, a car show, or the tattoo parlor.
Tom Preston, AV Operator tom@rvagrace.org
Tom Preston is an audio and video technician from Butler, Pennsylvania and live stream operator for Grace Baptist Church. Tom studied Music Production and Recording Technology at Shenandoah Conservatory, where he got his undergraduate degree. Tom is passionate about all things music and sees music (and the technology behind it) as a tool to build community and foster relationships between people. When he is not at Grace Baptist, Tom can be found recording at In Your Ear studios, or running sound for the popular local live-streamed music show, Shockoe Sessions Live.
Rev. Aaron Everic, Acting Associate Pastor aaron@rvagrace.org
Rev. Aaron Everic was born and raised in Friendswood, Tx and received his M.Div. from George W. Truett Theological Seminary. He has an extensive background in Youth and Family Ministry, nonprofit work, and now school systems as he works for the Anna Julia Cooper School as their Media Specialist. Aaron particularly loves to wonder about the lens of faith intersecting in everyday life— specifically, he puts this lens over the sporting world. He also enjoys contemplative practices and is a spiritual director. Outside of Grace and the school, he is likely spending time with family or binging the newest tv show!
Dr. Theresa Steward, Church Administrator, Pianist/Organist, Director of Grace Concert Series theresa@rvagrace.org
Dr. Theresa Steward serves as Pianist/Organist and Church Administrator at Grace Baptist Church of Richmond. She also is the Founding Director of the Grace Concert Series, a non-profit series which offers free performances to the public while collecting donations to benefit non-profit organizations and charitable causes to help those in need in the Greater Richmond community.
With undergraduate degrees in music and architecture degrees from the University of Virginia and graduate degrees in musicology from the University of Edinburgh (UK), Theresa’s academic work has focused on Iranian popular music studies, but more recently, she finds herself writing and speaking about her spiritual journey as a Muslim working in a Baptist church.
In addition to her performance and musicological work, Theresa is a creative visual artist as well as a certified mind-body instructor. She and her musician/composer husband, John White, have now started the new chapter of parenthood with their sweet baby Zahra.
Michael Chewning, Facilities Manager
michael@rvagrace.org
Michael Chewning, serves as Facilities Manager, taking care of Grace’s buildings and grounds. In his spare time, Michael enjoys the outdoors (hiking, biking, etc.), yoga, and takes great pleasure in learning something new every day.
Lela Ritchie, Nursery Coordinator
ritchie.lydiam@gmail.com
Lela Ritchie was born and raised in the greater Richmond area and was introduced to Grace in the past couple of years and loves spending time with the babies and young kids of Grace! She has volunteered and worked with babies and young children for many years now and that has led her to pursue Elementary and Exceptional Education at Randolph-Macon College.