Our VP

Rick and Regina Adams were born and grew up in Jacksonville, Florida. They both attended High School at Robert E. Lee where they met. While a senior, Rick was led to Christ in February of 1973 through the influence of both Regina and his football and wrestling coach, Leon Barrett.  

After trusting in Christ, he began attending Trinity Baptist Church and he and Regina became engaged. After graduating from High School they were married on December 14, 1973. They became active members at Trinity Baptist Church and served faithfully in the Adult Sunday School Department and Bus Ministry. God called Rick to preach in the fall of 1977 and he began training for the ministry in the fall of 1978 at Trinity Baptist College.

It was while in Bible College that Rick met and was deeply influenced and mentored by Dr. Charles T. Shoemaker for church planting. He graduated from Trinity in the spring of 1982. Rick and Regina answered the call of God to move to the Northwest in the summer of 1982 to start Greater Portland Baptist Church, an independent Baptist church in Portland, Oregon. Forty years later, GPBC has grown to be one of the most dynamic churches in the Northwest!

God led Rick to transition from Senior Pastor to become Pastor Emeritus and missionary sent out of GPBC. The same call of God and passion that brought him to the Northwest has now led him to become a missionary to pastors and church planters. His heart for bible preaching, teaching, soul winning, discipleship, worldwide evangelism still fuels his calling of God. For over forty years Rick has witnessed the heart break of pastor’s failing families and ministries. Coaching and mentoring pastors and church planters has now become his primary focus for this season of his life.  He is now booking meetings to solicit prayer and help raising financial support. 

Rick has served on the board of Church Planting America since its beginning. He is now excited to join Dr. Shoemaker in this noble ministry to pastors and church planters. He will serve as Vice President of Church Planting America.  Rick has earned a Bachelor’s degree in Pastoral Theology and a Master’s degree in Ministry from Trinity Baptist College. He has also received an honorary doctorate degree from Trinity. 

Rick is a friend of preachers and has been used of God to teach and preach in many local churches, Baptist colleges, missions conferences, and revivals. Rick and Regina have been married 49 years and reside in Gresham, Oregon. They have four married children: Rick, Amy, Ryan, and Anna. They are also the proud grandparents of eleven grandchildren! In addition to spending time with his wife and family, Rick enjoys reading, hiking with Regina, fishing, and hunting.