Garnett Slatton

Garnett Slatton is the founding pastor of River Community Church.  Originally from a small town on the Gulf Coast of Florida, Garnett earned his bachelor’s degree from Duke University and his M.B.A. from the Harvard Business School.  After a successful two-decade career in business, which included six years as an international management consultant and three years running the National Basketball Association’s Washington Bullets, Garnett felt God’s leading to go into pastoral ministry.   

Giving up the bright lights and big cities, Garnett and his wife Michelle returned to small town living, and found a home in the local church.  “The church was like a family that just welcomed us and made us a part of their lives.  I started teaching a Sunday School class, and it wasn’t long before God began working in my life and leading me into ministry.”   

For three years, Garnett led a division of MAP International, a global Christian organization that supplied donated pharmaceuticals and medical supplies to Christian hospitals and disaster relief efforts in the developing world.  “It was an incredible experience to see what Christians are doing around the world to relieve suffering.  For instance, we shipped hundreds of millions of dollars worth of medicines into the refugee camps of Bosnia and Rwanda.  I can’t imagine how many lives were spared and families kept together because of that work.” 

Garnett and Michelle subsequently moved their family to Charlotte, North Carolina, to work for his seminary degree (Masters of Divinity) at Reformed Theological Seminary.  After ordination, Garnett became the Evangelism and Family Ministry pastor at First Presbyterian Church in Baton Rouge.  After years of planning, River Community Church began its first Sunday morning worship services on Christmas Eve 2000 with Garnett as founding pastor. 

“I’m absolutely committed to building a church in the East Ascension/South Baton Rouge area with an emphasis on making an impact on the community, one life at a time.  I am passionate about seeing people having their lives transformed by the power of Jesus Christ.  There is nothing that fires my engines more than that.  But we do it in a way that shows the joy of Christ—we are a church with a sense of humor and a sense of humility.  We take our mission very seriously, but not ourselves.” 

Favorite movies:

City Slickers (the greatest movie ever made)
Field of Dreams (every guy’s favorite father/son movie)
The Lord of the Rings trilogy (I get goosebumps at some scenes)

Gods and Generals (shows the remarkable impact of faith on leaders)

Favorite groups:

David Crowder Band
Allman Brothers Band (with Duane)
Third Day (starting to see a pattern of wailing guitars here?)

Favorite restaurants:

Primos (2 words:  rosemary shrimp)
Albasha's (healthy, delicious, and I like that they know me)
Arthur Bryant’s Barbecue, Kansas City (to show my cosmopolitan side)

Favorite authors:

Pat Conroy (the best of contemporary Southern authors)
Dave Berry and Lewis Grizzard (just for laughs)
Jan Karon (I’m a sucker for Father Tim and the town of Mitford)

Favorite Christian authors:

John Piper (read Desiring God first)

C. S. Lewis (don't miss The Weight of Glory)

Richard Foster (you'll savor every paragraph)

Favorite teams:

Duke basketball (the real “America’s Team”)
Whoever is playing UNC
Okay, I guess, LSU (happy now?)

Heroes:

My dad—dropped out of high school in the Depression to help his family; pastored a church, preached every Sunday while working another full-time job

          My wife—has sacrificed much to become a pastor’s wife, and an absolutely great mom

Jonathan Edwards—father, pastor, theologian, missionary, educator, “the greatest scholar America has ever produced”—an extraordinary man of God