Riverwood Presbyterian Church Staff

Riverwood Staff

Riverwood’s Pastor, Tim Lien was born in Texas and grew up in Southern California in Los Angeles. He attended Bryan College in Tennessee and graduated with a degree in Biblical Studies. Tim came to West Alabama for the first time as an intern for the Aliceville PCA church after which he attended Covenant Theological Seminary. He was ordained in June of 2004 and came to Riverwood as Assistant Pastor. He became the Head Pastor in 2006. Tim is married to Melissa and they have three children; Laurian Kate, Anderson Martin, and Lainey Knox. Tim enjoys reading and sports, and is a self confessed computer nerd.

Eric Venable is an Assistant Pastor at Riverwood with an emphasis in youth and college ministry. Eric was born in Houston, Texas, but shortly thereafter moved to the Huntsville area in Alabama. After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English from Samford University, he attended Beeson Divinity School and received a Masters of Divinity in December of 2007. He was ordained in September of 2008. Eric is married to Jen, who works as a nurse in addition to assisting in ministry. He enjoys doing anything outdoors and reading, especially theology by people who have been dead for a while.

Riverwood is blessed to have Jeff Miller as our Director of Music and Arts. Jeff is a graduate of the University of Montevallo with a BA in Music and did post graduate work in music at the University of Alabama. Jeff is a very talented musician who plays several instruments, composes, and has a superb tenor voice. He is married to Dana and they have one daughter, Gracen. Jeff has a wide range of interests but his avocations of choice are music, books, and spending time with his wife, daughter and friends.

Our Director of Children’s Ministries is Peggy Drinkard. Peggy is a graduate of the University of Alabama with a degree in Fine Arts. Her creativity, commitment and very obvious love of children has been a great blessing to Riverwood. Peggy is married to David, a retired Air Force officer who is now in business in Tuscaloosa. They have three sons, Vic, Caleb and Sam, all of whom were home-schooled by Peggy. In addition to her work with our children’s ministries, Peggy teaches Latin and consults for the Riverwood Classical School.

jimmy hopper

Jimmy is an Elder at Riverwood and serves as a Pastoral Administrator, assisting the Pastor in several areas. He was educated at the University of Alabama in Business Administrator and retired after many years as a manager for a utility. Jimmy is married to Carolyn and they have four adult children and seven grandchildren. Jimmy enjoys reading and talking about books and professes to a deep love of poetry. He is also an avid fan of Alabama athletics. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Riverwood Classical School.

Sarah serves Riverwood as Office Manager. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Music from the University of Alabama and is an accomplished cellist, using her talent in worship and in concerts at Riverwood. Sarah is currently working toward a graduate degree in human development and family studies. Sarah is married to Greg, and they have two sons, Peter Reuel and Thomas Gerrit. Sarah enjoys spending time with family, supporting Alabama athletics, and watching movies.