Ryan Chico – Elder Candidate
Ryan grew up in the Valley graduating from Eastern Mennonite High School before attending Covenant College (Lookout Mountain, GA) where he pursued a degree in natural science. While at Covenant College, he met Heather and they were married in 2007. After getting married, the moved back to the Valley and Ryan worked in the operating room as a surgical technologist before graduating from JMU with a Masters in Physician Assistant Studies in 2013. He has worked as a PA with Sentara RMH Orthopedics since then. Ryan and Heather have 4 children, Bailey (9), Conrad (7), Carter (4), and Riley (6mo).
Give us a brief history (paragraph) of when/how you came to faith in Christ
I grew up in a Christian home and as is often prayed at baptisms, really don’t remember a time when I didn’t have some relationship with God. I recall first verbalizing my commitment to Christ at the age of 5 or 6 after asking my mom what it meant to be a Christian in the parking lot of the bread store in Norfolk VA. She told me it means you trust in the work of Jesus on your behalf, asking Him to come into your heart and change you, making Him the “boss” of your life. Of what I knew of God at that time, I remember reasoning, who wouldn’t want the all powerful God to be the “boss” of their life? I verbalized my commitment to Christ at that time. Through the rest of my childhood, my faith would define me to large degree as I often saw the world in very black and white terms. My walk with the Lord has been characterized by His faithfulness to me as I have gone through periods of spiritual feast and famine over the years.
Overall, my testimony is one of God’s faithfulness in continually calling me back to Him and using His people to serve as guardrails in my life. Although I don’t have a dramatic Demascus road conversion, I see this as God’s mercy in sparing me from some of the pain and heartache of this fallen world. While I continue to struggle with sin daily, it is God’s faithfulness that is the defining feature I see as I look at my life and I pray this is seen by the world around me as well.
What is your internal sense of call to the office? What do you love about the fellowship at Covenant Presbyterian?
Over the years, God has grown His grace in my life and produced an increasing desire to love and serve His people at Covenant Presbyterian. Growing up in the church, I have many fond memories and deep relationships with people here. From teaching youth Sunday school and working with the youth group as a young man to serving in nursery and leading home groups more recently (as an older man), God has increased my love for His people at our church. I have been humbled and challenged by His call to serve as an elder and look forward to growing more through the process. I love seeing people grow in the depth of their knowledge of who God is and what He has done for them.
What are few fun facts about yourself?
I enjoy sports (running, cycling, golf among others), especially participating in endurance sports. I love watching my kids pursue things they enjoy (sports, music, dance). As a PA in Orthopedics, I love helping people recover from their injuries and return to activities they enjoy!
David Lee – Elder Candidate
Human identity, desire and temptation, same-sex attraction, sex and marriage: These are not just buzzwords that daily bombard your news feeds and social platforms. Each word/phrase represents a worldview commitment that has moral and spiritual implications. Navigating these topics is particularly challenging for our teenagers and this class is specifically designed for parents and their 7-12th grade children (although all are welcome). Dr. Christopher Yuan, friend and colleague of Rosaria Butterfield, offers a wonderful combination of biblical wisdom, personal experience, and compelling presentation. Dr. Yuan’s video curriculum, The Holy Sexuality Project, will be the foundation for small group discussions and dialogue. Families are encouraged to sit together and will be given access to the online course material. This class is facilitated by Pastor John Kidd.
David Lee – Elder Candidate
Human identity, desire and temptation, same-sex attraction, sex and marriage: These are not just buzzwords that daily bombard your news feeds and social platforms. Each word/phrase represents a worldview commitment that has moral and spiritual implications. Navigating these topics is particularly challenging for our teenagers and this class is specifically designed for parents and their 7-12th grade children (although all are welcome). Dr. Christopher Yuan, friend and colleague of Rosaria Butterfield, offers a wonderful combination of biblical wisdom, personal experience, and compelling presentation. Dr. Yuan’s video curriculum, The Holy Sexuality Project, will be the foundation for small group discussions and dialogue. Families are encouraged to sit together and will be given access to the online course material. This class is facilitated by Pastor John Kidd.
David Lee – Elder Candidate
Human identity, desire and temptation, same-sex attraction, sex and marriage: These are not just buzzwords that daily bombard your news feeds and social platforms. Each word/phrase represents a worldview commitment that has moral and spiritual implications. Navigating these topics is particularly challenging for our teenagers and this class is specifically designed for parents and their 7-12th grade children (although all are welcome). Dr. Christopher Yuan, friend and colleague of Rosaria Butterfield, offers a wonderful combination of biblical wisdom, personal experience, and compelling presentation. Dr. Yuan’s video curriculum, The Holy Sexuality Project, will be the foundation for small group discussions and dialogue. Families are encouraged to sit together and will be given access to the online course material. This class is facilitated by Pastor John Kidd.
David Lee – Elder Candidate
Human identity, desire and temptation, same-sex attraction, sex and marriage: These are not just buzzwords that daily bombard your news feeds and social platforms. Each word/phrase represents a worldview commitment that has moral and spiritual implications. Navigating these topics is particularly challenging for our teenagers and this class is specifically designed for parents and their 7-12th grade children (although all are welcome). Dr. Christopher Yuan, friend and colleague of Rosaria Butterfield, offers a wonderful combination of biblical wisdom, personal experience, and compelling presentation. Dr. Yuan’s video curriculum, The Holy Sexuality Project, will be the foundation for small group discussions and dialogue. Families are encouraged to sit together and will be given access to the online course material. This class is facilitated by Pastor John Kidd.
David Lee – Elder Candidate
Human identity, desire and temptation, same-sex attraction, sex and marriage: These are not just buzzwords that daily bombard your news feeds and social platforms. Each word/phrase represents a worldview commitment that has moral and spiritual implications. Navigating these topics is particularly challenging for our teenagers and this class is specifically designed for parents and their 7-12th grade children (although all are welcome). Dr. Christopher Yuan, friend and colleague of Rosaria Butterfield, offers a wonderful combination of biblical wisdom, personal experience, and compelling presentation. Dr. Yuan’s video curriculum, The Holy Sexuality Project, will be the foundation for small group discussions and dialogue. Families are encouraged to sit together and will be given access to the online course material. This class is facilitated by Pastor John Kidd.
David Lee – Elder Candidate
Human identity, desire and temptation, same-sex attraction, sex and marriage: These are not just buzzwords that daily bombard your news feeds and social platforms. Each word/phrase represents a worldview commitment that has moral and spiritual implications. Navigating these topics is particularly challenging for our teenagers and this class is specifically designed for parents and their 7-12th grade children (although all are welcome). Dr. Christopher Yuan, friend and colleague of Rosaria Butterfield, offers a wonderful combination of biblical wisdom, personal experience, and compelling presentation. Dr. Yuan’s video curriculum, The Holy Sexuality Project, will be the foundation for small group discussions and dialogue. Families are encouraged to sit together and will be given access to the online course material. This class is facilitated by Pastor John Kidd.