I’m Drew Rivera, chairman of Cultivating Faith. I am also the founder and Curator of the Rivera Bible Collection (a physical collection of Bibles and other materials). I grew up on Long Island, NY going to a very small Baptist Church (Calvary Baptist Church in Medford). I came to saving faith in Jesus at the age of 10. Later that year my family moved to South Florida where I joined a local Baptist Church. As a teenager, I was very active in the youth ministry and the bus ministry. I went to Palm Beach Atlantic College (now University) earning a BA in Religion with a double minor in philosophy and biblical languages. I went on to Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, TX earning a Master of Divinity. The best part was meeting Diann, who became my wife. She also graduated from SWBTS with a Master’s in Religious Education. Many years and three kids later here we are in Missouri. God took us in a different direction than a vocational ministry, instead, I spent my career in IT. Our three children and their spouses all live close by allowing us to spend time with them and our grandchildren. We are all Southern Baptist through and through and are active members at local churches. Jared is a pastor in the county over from us and Jason is just starting his journey to vocational ministry. My passion is reading, studying, and learning about the Word of God and His truths. Now that I am retired this is what I live to do: studying, reading, and writing post for CultivatingFaith.org, teaching an adult class on theology and the Bible at our church.
I’m Diann, wife to Drew and mom/-in-love to the others here and a daughter. I am a retired teacher/tutor from the local public schools and now a fulltime grandma to five grandchildren. I grew up going to church with my family with Mom playing the piano as long as I can remember. At the age of 10, I accepted God’s gracious gift of salvation and became a member of a much larger family, God’s family!! I attained my Bachelor of Science in Education with a lifetime teaching certificate for pre-K through 8th grade. After doing summer missions in Montana, I felt the Lord’s leading to go to seminary and earned my Master of Arts in Religious Education from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas. During my time in seminary, I met my husband-to-be at a church we were both attending. He graduated from seminary, we got married, and I finished my degree. I also enjoy crafts – card making, quilting, sewing toys, flower arranging; reading/studying my Bible, Christian fiction, books about cooking, cookbooks; and cooking/baking – various breads, pastries, cookies, cakes, etc. I look forward to sharing my love of and the truth in God’s word with our readers.