Leadership

Pastor Eric Kennedy and his family began serving Ringgold First Baptist in 2014 and are thrilled to call Ringgold home.  Eric was born and raised in Laurens, SC and gave his life to Christ as a child.  After studying finance at Florida State University, Eric spent ten years working as a stockbroker and operations manager in the financial industry before accepting God’s call to vocational ministry.  He served on staff with Central Baptist Church of Miami, FL for two years before attending seminary at Beeson Divinity School in Birmingham, AL, and then served as senior pastor of Community Baptist Fellowship church in Bedford, IN for seven years.  In his free time, Eric enjoys being outdoors fishing, hiking, and kayaking, and spending time with his family.  Eric is married to Dallas, TX native Lori, who is a speech pathologist with the Catoosa County school system.  Lori spent several years as a full-time missionary working in inner city Miami, FL and is a graduate of Texas Tech University and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.  Eric and Lori are the proud parents of James and Ellie.

Pastor Brant Olivarri and his family moved to Ringgold First Baptist in 2009 where he begin serving as the minister to families.  Brant spent his childhood in Columbia, SC and though he is a USC Gamecock fan, his true college team is the University of Texas.  Brant received a Physical Education degree from Carson-Newman, where he played soccer for the Eagles.  Carson-Newman is also where he met his wife Kristy when he was supposed to be studying.  After college Brant received a Master of Divinity from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, TX.  Brant and Kristy have served churches in NC and SC before coming to Ringgold.  Brant and Kristy have been married since 1999 and have three wonderful kids: Sawyer, Cohen & Piper. 

Pastor Eric Purser accepted the call to serve as a minister of the gospel through music at Ringgold First Baptist in 2017.  Born and raised in Macon, GA, he developed his love of music in church, school, and community choirs and instrumental groups. Upon completing his Bachelor of Music in music education at the University of Georgia, where he marched with the Redcoat Band for 4 years, Eric pursued a band teaching career.  He worked with elementary and middle school bands in Fort Valley (GA), Folkston (GA), and Jackson (GA) and earned his Master of Music degree from Columbus State University. While in Jackson, Eric discovered his calling to lead music in church while attending Towaliga Baptist Church, where he was later ordained for ministry. After two years of musical leadership at Towaliga, Eric accepted a as Associate Minister of Music at First Baptist Church of Blairsville, GA, where he served for seven years. During these years, Eric earned his Master of Theological Studies degree from Midwestern Baptist Seminary.  Eric enjoys spending time with his wife Laura, who is a pianist and a music teacher at Oakwood Christian School, and their sons Ethan and Evan.  He enjoys being outdoors camping, kayaking, hiking, biking or otherwise playing with the family, and watching UGA sports and all Atlanta area professional sports teams.

Dan Nichols has been part of Ringgold First Baptist Church since November of 1970. Prior to joining the staff as Financial Administrator in 2020, Dan has served as a Deacon, Sunday School Teacher and Children’s Choir Director. He has a degree in Economics and Finance from Shorter University. He attended UTC to study accounting in preparation for the CPA exam which he successfully passed on his first attempt. Prior to joining the staff at RFBC, he worked in the banking and insurance industries.  Dan‘s interest are golf, Braves baseball, SEC football and spending time with the women in his life (his wife, two daughters and three granddaughters).

Allison Hullender joined the Ringgold First Baptist staff in June of 2018. She attended Moody Bible Institute for one year and finished her degree at Bryan College in Dayton, TN.  Allison was born and raised in Traverse City, Michigan but settled in Georgia with her husband Shane, a Ringgold native,  She and Shane are the proud parents of daughter Promyss . Allison's professional journey has taken many turns, hills, and valleys, but she is happiest when she is supporting the work of others and is thrilled that she is also able to serve the Lord at the same time.

If you are interested please contact us at info@ringgoldfbc.net

Joey Callahan and his family came to Ringgold First Baptist in 2023 to answer the call to be their Minister to Youth.   Joey received his first degree in Wellness and Fitness leadership from Chattanooga State University, all the while working at the local Golds Gym as a trainer and sales consultant. He is currently attending Liberty University Online and is working to get his B.S. in Bible-Christian Counseling.  He hopes to use what he learns at Liberty in our youth group and beyond in future ministry opportunities.  Joey and his wife, Rachel,  grew up together at the same schools, and church, spending nearly their whole lives together, till one day in 2009 Joey wised up and asked her to the homecoming dance. 7 Years later they got married!    Joey and Rachel both served in their previous church at Burning Bush as Youth Leaders, and Sunday School teachers. Joey also served as a deacon from 2016.  They have 2 kids; Cora their oldest and their son Graham.

Laura Purser has been a member of Ringgold FBC since her husband, Eric's, call to ministry at RFBC in 2017.  She is originally from Ludowici, GA and holds a Bachelor of Music degree in music education from Georgia Southern University, and a Master of Music degree in music education from Columbus State University.  She met her husband, Eric, while attending CSU and they married in 2004.  She has served churches in various capacities including pianist, children's/student choir accompanist, children's choir director, and instrumental music coordinator, since 1995.  Her first ministry position was serving as church pianist alongside her father, who was a minister of music.  
Laura has taught choral and instrumental music in various capacities for 18 years.  She currently serves as the band director at Oakwood Christian Academy in Chickamauga and has taught there for six years.  Laura enjoys traveling and  spending time with Eric and their two sons, Ethan and Evan.

Beth Long has ministered to Ringgold First Baptist for more than 50 years! She became our church organist in 1966 and has served under the direction of eight ministers of music and alongside eight pastors. But to limit Beth’s service to our church to the area of music alone would be a huge oversight. Beth is not only a talented musician but also a trusted spiritual leader, tireless prayer warrior, devoted friend, and faithful servant in all areas of church life. Her theology of music is that it “glorifies God and lifts our peoples’ hearts”, and she has lived out that theology through decades of worship services and countless weddings, funerals, and other events. Beth’s happiest time of the week is Sunday morning worship when she has the joy of hearing the voices of our congregation raised in praise to the Lord. Beth is happily married to Win and loves spending time with their children and grandchildren.

Lynndi Fountain was born and raised right here in Ringgold, GA. She grew up in a Christian home with her dad, mom, and two older brothers. After graduating from Ringgold High School in 2012 with a career strand in Early Childhood Education, she devoted herself to teaching children. Whether it was through dance classes or education, she knew from a young age she loved working with kids. After joining the Ringgold First Baptist PreK and Learning Center staff in 2013, she attended Northwestern Technical College where she received her TCC in Early Childhood Education. Lynndi has served in a variety of roles in our PreK over the years, working most recently as our 2-year-old class teacher prior to becoming our PreK director in 2020. Lynndi has been married to her high school sweetheart, Tanner Fountain, since 2013. They have two wonderful children together: Church and Atlas. In her free time, she enjoys fitness activities of any kind, dancing with her children, long naps with her cat, coffee dates with her husband, and making people smile. She is so excited for this new chapter in her life and can’t wait to see all of God’s plans with the PreK program.