Rick Snyder

0Senior Pastor, rick.snyder@firstchurchchampaign.org

Rick Snyder is our Senior Pastor and Head of Staff since August 2003. A native of Pennsylvania, he is a graduate of Dickinson College (B.S.) and San Francisco Theological Seminary (M.Div. and M.A. in New Testament Studies). He studied at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, and has doctorates from San Francisco and McCormick Seminaries. He is an author of seven articles and Called, Conformed and Cahllenged: A Guide to Discipleship.

Married to Mary Ann and the father of Erik and Mark, he enjoys reading, long distance running, needlepoint and nearly any sporting event. What inspires him about FirstChurch? “We blend tradition and innovation, study and a passion for justice. We are a true spiritual family that is having an impact far beyond Champaign-Urbana.”
  1. How did you first start coming to FirstChurch?
    While serving a church in Michigan, I performed a funeral for a professor of criminal justice who used to teach at U of I. A group of Champaign-Urbana took me aside after the funeral and asked if I might be interested in serving FirstChurch. Mary Ann and I discussed the possibilities and one thing led to another.
  2. What is one thing you love about FirstChurch?
    I love the people—very creative, imaginative, committed, and concerned for sharing the love of Christ, locally and globally.
  3. Little known fact about yourself:
    When I turned 50, I ran the Chicago Marathon.
  4. Favorite book:
    I love history, good novels, anything well-written. I loved The Covenant, by Michenor; Exodus, by Uris; and I’m reading The Age of Lincoln, by Vern Burton.
  5. Favorite vacation spot:
    Paris—Mary Ann and I spent our 25th wedding anniversary there.