Our pastor, Dr. Russell Riggs, was born in Walnut Ridge, Arkansas on August 26, 1970 to Pastor & Mrs. Glenn Riggs. At the age of 11, Bro. Riggs surrendered his life to be a minister. At the age of 18, he became the youth director of a brand new church in Winter Springs, Florida called Starlight Baptist Church. He started out with 2 teenagers and built it to become a thriving large youth department. In 1995, the Lord led him to start a church in Apopka, Florida, and he served as the Apopka Baptist Temple's pastor for seven years. During that time, he met his wife Christy, a preacher's daughter from Mt. Dora, Florida. Also during this time, Dr. Riggs started the Soldiers of the Cross ministries which included a summer youth camp, a monthly youth rally network, and a pastor's conference in Orlando. Soldiers of the Cross has grown to be a huge tool in reaching young people in central Florida.

In 2002, Dr. & Mrs. Riggs became the lead pastor of the Orlando Baptist Temple and the President of Baptist Temple Prep. They would serve 17 years there before resigning in February of 2019 to come to San Antonio and take the helm as Senior Pastor for the Town East Baptist Church and as the President of the Town East Christian School.

Dr. & Mrs. Riggs have 3 children - Savannah, Julian, and Adrianna. Dr. Riggs holds a BA in Pastoral Theology and an MA and PhD in Christian Counseling. He is known for his humorous yet dynamic preaching style and is sought after to speak in pastor's conferences, revivals, and youth conferences abroad. He also has a heart for missions and often travels to foreign countries to preach the Gospel.