Charles Phelps - Chairman
"Our burden is to equip church planters and their helpers by helping to establish a school that will educate African ministers to a level that would typically require relocation to America. Believing that relocation for educational purposes will often lead to the necessity of excessive costs being incurred and students never returning to their homelands, we see the need to establish a first-rate school Because I have been to Zambia, I believe that the Lord has uniquely placed the Riverside ministries in a strategic situation for such an endeavor. Trinity Baptist Church of Concord is very interested in providing a role model and support through personnel, finance and prayer to see a college ministry in Zambia succeed." Dr Phelps served as the senior Pastor of Trinity Baptist Church in Concord, NH for sixteen years. He is now serving as the President of Maranatha Baptist Bible College in Watertown, WI. (www.mbbc.edu)
Matt Olson - Vice-Chairman
Dr. Matt Olson was pastor of Tri-City Baptist Church in Westminster, Colorado, a church he started "from scratch" in the fall of 1981. Since that time, Tri-City has grown significantly and has assisted in the planting of at least a dozen other churches in the West. Dr. Olson received his B.A. and M.A. degrees from Bob Jones University and later completed his doctoral work at Northland Baptist Bible College. His passion is for local church ministry and for the full scope of the Great Commission. Along with church planting and missions, he has developed a special interest in helping young people as they prepare for ministry. Many of those who have grown up at Tri-City are now in some sort of full-time ministry or are preparing for it. Dr. Olson serves on a number of boards and is a frequent conference speaker in the United States and abroad. In June 2002, he began serving as President of Northland Baptist Bible College and Northland Camp & Conference Center (www.nbbc.edu). He and his wife, Diane, have three children: Sarah, Ross, and Reid.
Phil Gordon - Treasurer
Phil was born into Christian home and born again at the age of 5 during Vacation Bible School in his home church in Dover, Ohio. After receiving a degree in Electrical Engineering from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, Phil began employment with Procter & Gamble in 1987. With P&G, he has been based in manufacturing plants located in Greenville, SC, Greensboro, NC, and since 1998 in Lima, Ohio, and Boston, MA. He is currently the Human Resources manager for the Boston operation. Phil is a member of Church of the Open Bible in Burlington, MA. Phil's ministry involvement has included being a deacon, adult men’s SS teacher, and general manager of a Christian FM radio station. Phil has also served as a member of the Board of Directors of Independent Faith Mission since 2000. Over the past several years, Phil has had the opportunity to visits mission fields in Jamaica, Suriname, Mexico, and Zambia.
"As a Christian, I am impressed by those that love the Lord sincerely and follow Him with their whole heart. As a Bible Fundamentalist, I am impressed by those that demonstrate a love for the Word, expound it fully and accurately, and take a stand for what’s right, even when unpopular. As a businessman, I am impressed by those that conduct themselves “decently and in order”, with professionalism and excellence in operation. Having had the opportunity to see the work of Central Africa Baptist College first-hand, and to know personally many of those in leadership positions, I have been impressed in all of these aspects by the team that God has providentially assembled in Kitwe. What exists there is first and foremost a passionate love for Christ and a wholehearted commitment to serving Him, coupled with a Spiritual gifting in all the necessary areas for the conduct of this ministry, including evangelist, pastor/teacher, and administrator. The spiritual and academic credentials, as well as the practical ministry experiences of the faculty and staff are remarkable. God has truly divinely led this work to this point in bringing the team together and providing the environment and resources to make possible the creation of the College. Whether you are looking into CABC for your personal attendance, for referral of others, or for prayer or financial support, you can do so with confidence that the work there is worthy of your serious consideration." - Phil Gordon
Joe Helm
Mr. Helm received his B.A. in Bible from Bob Jones University in 1980 and his Juris Doctorate in 1983 from Valparaiso University School of Law, also serving as Associate Editor of the Law Review. He served as a Judicial Clerk in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana and for the last 23 years has been in the private practice of law in the firm of McLario, Helm & Bertling, Menomonee Falls, WI. He also served as a Vice-President of Resolute Systems, a nation-wide mediation and arbitration company providing out-of-court mediation and reconciliation services to disputing parties.
He has authored numerous legal and ministry related articles in both legal and Christian publications, including a First Amendment analysis of the Bob Jones University case published in the Valparaiso University Law Review.
He has been an active alumnus of Bob Jones University, serving as Wisconsin State Chairman of the Forsake Me Not Program; providing estate planning services to the University faculty, staff and friends; and teaching as an adjunct professor in the doctor/master of ministries program, “The Law and Its Implications to the Local Church”.
Ordained to the gospel ministry in 1988, he also serves as Associate Pastor of Brookside Baptist Church, Brookfield, WI (www.brooksidebaptist.org).
Sam Horn
Dr. Sam Horn, Executive Vice President of Northland Baptist Bible College, is a frequent conference, camp, and seminar speaker across the country and in other countries such as Poland, Russia, Mexico, and the Dominican Republic. He has a burden to see young men trained for the ministry. Dr. Horn received a B.A. in Bible, an M.A. in Bible, and a Ph.D. from Bob Jones University and Masters Seminary. While at BJU, he served as a faculty member and the director of extended education. Dr. Horn serves as the Senior Pastor at Brookside Baptist Church in Brookfield, WI (www.brooksidebaptist.org). Dr. Horn and his wife, Beth are the parents of one child, Robert.
Philip Hunt
Philip Hunt surrendered to missions at the age of sixteen. He attended Oklahoma Baptist College in Oklahoma City and at the same time pursued a private pilots license. In 1986 he began ministry with the youth at Pentucket Baptist Church in Atkinson, New Hampshire. In March of 1992 he, his wife Lori, and eight-month-old daughter Cherith moved to Africa.
Working in a team ministry, he and his colleagues started Faith Baptist Church of Riverside in 1993. This church has been instrumental in a number of outreach ministries in the Kitwe area. The Riverside church is a self-supporting indigenous church as is the first outreach from Riverside - Faith Baptist Church of Chipata Compound. Two other churches have also been started in Kitwe. In addition, Philip was instrumental in the establishment of Faith Children’s Village Orphanage.
His greatest passion is to train the next generation of African leadership who will have the capacity to advance a truly indigenous independent Baptist movement across the continent of Africa. For this reason he has dedicated his life to the establishment of Central Africa Baptist College which is targeting higher education for men across central and southern Africa. Philip Hunt now serves as president of Central Africa Baptist College. He and his wife Lori have been serving as missionaries with Independent Faith Mission since 1989. They are the parents of seven children: Cherith, Austin, Collin, Ashlyn, Carman, Tamaryn and Corban.
Steve Pettit
Evangelist Steve Pettit is widely known as a strong Bible preacher, emphasizing revival and evangelism. He has conducted over 400 campaigns throughout the United States and has preached in 11 foreign countries. Having worked with teenagers for 25 years, he has a special burden for young people and their problems, and he spends every summer preaching in fundamental youth camps across America.
Steve is a native of Columbia, SC. He was converted to Christ at the age of nineteen while a freshman at The Citadel, the military college of SC. He surrendered to the call to preach, and upon his graduation in 1978, he enrolled at Bob Jones University in Greenville, SC. He received a masters degree in pastoral studies in 1980. After serving as the youth pastor at First Baptist Church, Bridgeport, MI, for five years, he began traveling as an evangelist.
In 1997 he received honorary doctorates from Bob Jones University, Northland Baptist Bible College, and Ambassador Baptist Bible College. In 1980 he was married to his lovely wife Terry. They have four children Rebecca (23), Rachel (21), Stephen (17), and Michael (9). They have been traveling together as a family since 1985. (www.spea.org)
Bud Steadman
Bud Steadman was born at Kingsport, Tennessee in 1953 into a nominal Christian home. At the age of 10 he heard the gospel and was saved through the Bible school outreach of a local Baptist church. After being called to preach through personal devotions at the age of 15, he attended Bob Jones University, where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Bible in 1975, followed by a Master of Ministry degree. He was honored in 1994 by Ambassador Baptist College of Lattimore, North Carolina with a Doctor of Divinity degree.
He is married to the former Ruth Ann Bauman of Farmington, New Mexico, whom he met during their Bible college training. The Steadmans have been married for 30 years and have three children - Sarah (24); Nathan (21); and Hannah (16).
Pastor Steadman has previously held assistant pastorates in youth and music in New Mexico and North Carolina, and senior pastorates in Virginia and North Carolina. Before moving to the South Bend area in January of 1996 to begin his ministry as senior pastor of Community Baptist Church, he served in the same capacity with the Catawba Springs Church of Raleigh, North Carolina for 10 years. The present attendance of Community Baptist on Sunday mornings averages 750 (www.communitybaptist.com).
His commitment to missions is reflected in his having traveled to various mission fields, as well as serving on a number of ministry and mission boards, including Bob Jones University, Baptist World Mission, the Slavic Baptist Institute, and Advance America.
The Lord has given Bud multiple opportunities to speak at camps, revival meetings, and conferences, in addition to his pastoral ministry at Community. He has also had articles published in Faith for the Family, Frontline, and Today’s Christian Preacher.