Our Pastors
Here at the River, we are blessed to have a dynamic father and son team of Co-Pastors who share a passion to see lives transformed by the simple gospel of Jesus Christ. Win - Build - Send.
Pastor Otis
River of Life Baptist Church began in July of 2003 and is the second church the Nixdorf's have planted. Currently, Otis is our primary teaching pastor and serves bi-vocationally at the River.
Otis & Debbie Nixdorf have been married over 40 years. They've served in ministry most of those years. Otis graduated from Baptist Bible College in Springfield, MO and gained his MDiv from Louisianna Seminary.
In 1987 the Nixdorf's planted their first church in Independence, MO where Otis served as Senior Pastor for over 12 years. Pastor Otis also served as Senior Pastor of a church in Springfield, MO.
Debbie works as a BSN and helps the church by singing in the praise band, teaching, etc...
She really helps keep everything running.
Dave and Stephanie Nixdorf were married in 2002 and have 2 sons, Fisher and Hunter.
Dave graduated with honors from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary with a BA in Biblical Studies.
Dave is our full-time pastor and is responsible for the day to day operations of our church. Dave ministers to our youth, teaches, preaches, counsels, and spends most of his energy behind the scenes working out various details.
Along with his duties at the River, Pastor Dave serves actively in the Cameron Ministerial Alliance, drives a school bus, and is the Head Wrestling Coach of Penney High.
Stephanie is an LPN at Cameron Regional Hospital. She has a servant's heart, is a gifted singer, and serves wherever needed. We are truly blessed by her faithfulness to our church family.
Pastor Dave
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Support Staff
Here at the River, we are also blessed to be able hire part-time staff to work with our Pastors in reaching our goal to Win - Build - Send.
Darla Walker
Darla married the love of her life Clayton Walker in 1975. They have 3 children and 5 grandchildren. Darla has served Christ through various ministries and holds an Associate of Arts in Children's Ministery from MBTS.
Darla's ministry task is to Recruit, Equip, and Lead a team of volunteers to develop and implement stategies in effort to Win - Build - Send through ALL aspects of our Children's Ministry.
At the River we desire to see young lives changed with the power of the Gospel by getting kids and their parents excited about serving God through learning about His Word.