Associate Pastor

Aside from intermittent dreams of being an astronaut, a pro baseball player, a lawyer, a rock star, and a history professor, Andy Stager has thought for his whole life that he just may be called to the pastoral ministry. That sense of calling was confirmed in the fall of 2008, when he was called to First ARP Church, Rock Hill, to be Associate Minister of Family Life. Though perhaps lacking the apparent glamour of his previous "dream jobs", he is thrilled and blessed to earn a living as a servant of the gospel and of the church.

Andy Stager is a native of Akron, Ohio. He graduated with a B.A. in History from Kent State University (Kent, OH) in the spring of 2003, shortly after marrying Ellie the previous fall. In 2004, they headed 9 hours down I-77 to Columbia, SC, where Ellie speedily found a job in her field, and put Andy through the beginnings of an M.A. in early-modern European History at the University of South Carolina.

Apparently there is some correlation between seminary and fertility. A minister at First Presbyterian Church (ARP) in Columbia suggested that Ellie and he ought to prepare for a little one if he were to begin the M.Div program at Reformed Theological Seminary (Charlotte, NC) in the fall of 2005. It turned out that their first son, Deacon, was, unbeknownst to them, already on the way! Andy continued his history degree at USC, and worked as a teaching assistant, while he chipped away at his M.Div at RTS. Owen was born in January of 2008, amid the frenzy of two masters degrees and a two year old.

While Ellie is a "real" musician, a singer-songwriter, and a recording artist (look for her record on CD Baby here), Andy also dabbles in music. He also enjoys golf and riding his vintage Vespa scooter. But nothing makes Andy happier than seeing the living Word of God jump off the pages of Scripture and find its way into the lives of women and men, girls and boys. As Associate Minister of Family Life, he partners with Gods people at First ARP in their commitment and longing to see this continue to happen.