About Me
Hi! My name is Ron Lichtle. You may vaguely know me from a distance in a variety of settings or different roles. I have a life, a family, different gifts and strengths, as well as flaws and warts. The fact is, I am a person: a marinade of human emotions and aspirations endeavoring to live up to my God-given potential. I am the father of Caleb, Moriah, Brookelyn and Breanne, Pastor of River of Life Church, husband of Carma, former MN District Superintendent, passionate preacher, restaurant patron, duck/deer hunter, semi-skilled carpenter, wanna-be painter, life long learner/student, creative entrepreneur and driven Choleric/Melancholy.
Here is the most critical component of my life story.
At 15 years of age, Jesus totally changed my life. Radically. The love of God broke into my world. I have never gotten over that experience; it has cast a powerful shadow over every single day of my life. My trajectory moved in a 180-degree direction from hopeless to purposeful. I have a simple life mission, and it is to serve Jesus, impact as many people as possible, and when my life ends, walk through pearly gates and meet the One I’ve spent my life following by faith. Period.
Life is all about relationships. Anonymity has a certain attractiveness to it, but if relationships truly have value, it requires a commitment to openness to live a life of such value. We all make assumptions and snap evaluations of people we meet, some accurate, others wildly off the mark. The goal of this website is to open a measure of my life to you. I hope in some small way it lends a hand to your life journey as well as offers a hand of friendship.
If you live in the Grand Rapids area, I would love for you to experience our church. I can guarantee that you won’t be bored. You'll meet some of the finest people, and most importantly, you will be impacted by the Presence of Jesus. Feel free to come say hi and shake my hand after the service, I’d love to meet you.
If you are from another region, there are a number of resources available on this site that I hope will be a benefit to you. Valuable books I’ve read as well as short videos dedicated to teaching small principles of the Bible.