“For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified…My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so your faith may not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power. 1 Corinthians 2: 2-5
Rev. Richard Ochsner (Pastor Ric) has served as Senior Pastor at First Baptist Yarmouth since 1990. He grew up in the Finger Lakes Region of New York State but truly loves Maine where he and his family have lived since 1984. He and his wife Karen (“K.D.”) have two grown sons, Nathan (wife Bridgitte) and Andrew, all of whom share in his passion for Jesus Christ and ministry of the Gospel.
Although occasionally attending church as a youth, Ric found himself spiritually more comfortable outdoors than in a church building with “organized religion.” In 1974 when in a state of disillusionment and hunger for a purpose in his life, he went to live for six months with relatives who were medical missionaries in Zaire (Congo). It was there in the African bush as a 21 year old that true faith and true fellowship in Christ became real as he watched it actively lived out in community. And it was there that he felt the beginnings of his call.
Ric graduated from SUNY Cortland with a B.S. in Psychology, and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary with a Masters of Divinity. K.D. is a 1981 graduate of Gordon College with a B.S. in Sociology.
Ric enjoys getting out in nature to exercise, hike trails or sit along the coast to meditate and pray. He loves music, plays guitar and has a passion for worship, often serving as a vocalist on the worship team along with other members of his family. Ric has been actively involved in minister’s fellowship groups in the Greater Portland Area since 1984. Responding to an additional call to mentor others soul-to-soul, he currently serves with Vision New England as Northern New England Director of Mentoring.
At the heart of it all for Pastor Ric is a deep desire to help people connect with the Living Lord in a real, down to earth way. The search to personally know more of Christ, and to follow Him, is a spiritual journey on which he travels to this day. It is a journey that he passionately invites others to join with him and share.
Contact Ric by e-mail
Recommended Reading:
"Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth"
By: Richard J. Foster
"Spiritual Disciplines Handbook: Practices That Transform Us"
By: Adele Ahlberg Calhoun
