Eric Waters was born and raised outside of Syracuse, New York. He attended Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, where he met both his wife and his Lord. Michelle witnessed to him by telling the story of what Jesus was doing in her life. By the time he graduated in June of 1995, Eric wanted to believe in Jesus, but knew he didn’t.
After graduation, Eric, a Russian major, worked for three months as a forest ranger in Siberia. He brought the Bible and asked God to speak to him. One day in October of 1995, God did. The Holy Spirit brought him to faith in Jesus that day, and Eric knew then that he would give the rest of his life to him.
Eric and Michelle were engaged not long after he came back to America. He was confirmed on Pentecost of 1996, with Michelle sponsoring. They were married in December of that year and studied at Yale Divinity School in New Haven, Connecticut, where they both received their Masters of Divinity degrees in 1999. They served as intern pastors in Pelican Rapids, Minnesota and were ordained in July of 2001. Eric and Michelle were both called as assistant pastors to First Lutheran Church in Fargo, North Dakota. Michelle stepped back from the ministry after the birth of their fourth child. Eric received his Doctorate of Ministry in Biblical Preaching from Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota in 2008. That same year, he began serving at Upper Arlington Lutheran Church in Columbus, Ohio. In 2016, Pastor Waters was called to serve at St. John Lutheran Church in Boerne.
Eric and Michelle have been blessed with six children: Sophia, Elizabeth, Samuel, David, Jonathan, and Matthew. They are very excited about the Lord’s call to serve as the Senior Pastor of St. John, and eagerly looking forward to finding where the Lord will take this church in the next few years.