Rev. Richard Gibbons began his ministry as the tenth Senior Pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Greenville, SC, on September 1, 2007. Rev. Gibbons is a native of Scotland and served The Church of Scotland since August 1997 as a Regional Development Officer to eight presbyteries and most recently as the Moderator of the Presbytery of Inverness.

Rev. Gibbons began biblical studies at Glasgow Bible College in 1982 where several years later he supervised the student placement program and lectured in Evangelism, Communications, and Practical Homiletics. During this time he initiated missions in Glasgow, Edinburgh, and Aberdeen with the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. Before serving as Moderator of the Presbytery of Inverness, he was an associate pastor at Claremont Church in East Kilbride.

Rev. Gibbons holds joint honors in Ecclesiastical History and Systematic Theology, and received a Divinity degree from Trinity College, University of Glasgow. He is currently pursuing a Doctor of Ministry degree at Highland Theological College in partnership with Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson, Mississippi.

He and his wife, Ruth, have been married for 26 years and have one son, Michael.

Rev. Tim Leslie is First Presbyterian Church's Adult Education Pastor. He coordinates with other staff a ministry of Christian education that seeks to build believers who order their lives after the Bible. After receiving a BA from Belhaven College in 1973, he continued his education at the Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson, MS, where he received his Master of Divinity in 1976. He served in pastorates in Alabama and Florida. During the Florida pastorate he began his pursuit of a Master of Theology in New Testament from Columbia Theological Seminary which he received in 1995. Tim and his family came to South Carolina to serve at First Presbyterian in 1999. Tim is married to Cathy and they have three adult children and two grandchildren and another due in Mid-January 2010.

Rev. Phil Hargrove is the Associate Pastor of Contemporary Ministries. Phil’s primary focus is young adults between the ages of 18 and 35, both singles and young married couples. He also oversees the Student Ministries Department and the Contemporary Worship Leader.

Phil is coming to us from Virginia, where he has served as the Director of Admissions at Union Theological Seminary for the past two years. Prior to that, Phil spent almost ten years serving as a pastor at several PC(USA) and PCA churches in North Carolina. He is a graduate of Furman University and has Masters degrees from Reformed Theological Seminary in Charlotte and Union Theological Seminary.

Phil is joined by his wife, Cary, and four children, Allie, Mia, Lincoln, and Rosa Kevan. Phil brings an enthusiasm and a heart for discipleship.

Dr. Pam Cole is the Visitation Pastor at First Presbyterian Church, Greenville, SC. As Visitation Pastor, Pam visits members who need personal contact from the church and spends time with them in encouragement and prayer. She has served in this role at First Presbyterian since November of 2007.

A native of Gastonia, NC, Pam grew up attending First Presbyterian Church. She earned a B.A. degree in History from Wake Forest University, followed by postgraduate study in Religion. Pam received her J.D. degree at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and worked as a Law Clerk for United States and South Carolina Circuit Court judges before becoming an associate at Wyche, Burgess, Freeman & Parham Law Firm. She enjoyed performing pro bono law work as well. During this time Pam lived in Greenville, SC, where she was an active member of First Presbyterian Church.

Pam received her Master of Divinity degree from Erskine Theological Seminary and in 1995 became Associate Pastor at Easley Presbyterian Church in Easley, SC. She earned her Doctor of Ministry degree through Columbia Theological Seminary. In 2000, Pam accepted a call to serve as Senior Pastor at Trinity Presbyterian Church in Travelers Rest, SC.

Pam is married to Robert Cole, and their home is in Marietta, SC.

Rev. Stan Johnson began duties as Associate Pastor of First Presbyterian Church November 8, 2004. Stan had been Pastoral Care Intern here since September 2003. He is a 1985 graduate of Covenant Theological Seminary and pastored for 14 years in Kentucky. A native of Greenville, Stan graduated from Greenville High School in 1969 and Furman University in 1973. Before coming to First Church, he was chaplain at Greenville Memorial Hospital. He is married to Stephanie and has a 19 year old step-daughter, Kara. Stan's duties include counseling, visitation, Stephen Ministry Leadership, as well as preaching and teaching.

On March 1, 2005, Rev. George Moore joined the pastoral staff of First Presbyterian as Interim Associate Pastor for Visitation. George spends 30 hours each week focusing on the important ministry of visitation to the members of our church family. This is a great passion for him.

George has pastored churches in Marshall, North Carolina, and Erwin, Tennessee, and has most recently finished a Parish Associate position in Montrose, Colorado. He and his wife, Mozelle, have moved to the Upstate to be closer to family in Asheville.

They have three married daughters, Julia, Jennie, and Janice, seven grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.

Brian comes to us from North Carolina, where he has served for seven years as the organizing pastor of the Presbyterian Church of the Springs, a new church development in Barium Springs. In 2007, the church was awarded the Sam and Helen Walton Award for Excellence in New Church Development. Prior to that, Brian was the organizing pastor of the Westminster Presbyterian Church in Jackson, Tennessee.

He is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and John Wesley College and has Masters degrees from Duke Divinity School and Union Theological Seminary in Richmond, Virginia.

Brian is joined by his wife, Tracie, and their two sons, Brian and William. Brian brings an enthusiasm and a heart for evangelism and missions.

Rev. Bob Jones is the Interim Associate Pastor of Marriage and Family and Men's Ministries at First Presbyterian Church of Greenville, SC. Since his retirement from FPC in 2002, Bob has served as Interim Pastor of Trinity Presbyterian Church in Travelers Rest, SC, and First Presbyterian Church of Caldwell, NJ. He served FPC of Greenville from 1994-2002 as Minister of Outreach and Evangelsim.

Bob was born and raised in South Bend, Indiana. He graduated from hanover College with a degree in history and graduated from Princeton Seminary in 1963. He has pastored churches in Ossinging, NY, Franklin, NJ, Willingboro, NJ, and Cincinnati, OH.

Bob and his wife, Priscilla (Priss) have two grown children, Pam Zeller and John Jones (John and Tina Jones are members of FPC) and seven grandchildren. They reside in Greenville, SC.

The Rev. Dr. Randy Kowalski became Pastor Emeritus of First Presbyterian Church on August 20, 2006. He served as Senior Pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Greenville, SC from 1974–2004. He has previously served churches in Pendleton, SC, Abbeville, SC, and Augusta, GA. He is a graduate of Clemson University and holds a Master of Divinity degree from Columbia Theological Seminary and a Doctor of Divinity from Presbyterian College.

He and his wife, Frances, have two daughters, Mrs. Kelly King, and Dr. Robin Britt, and four grandchildren.