Richard grew up in Asheville, North Carolina and studied at UNC-Chapel Hill and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in Massachusetts. For 35 years, he served as Associate Pastor, New Church Developer, Pastor and Interim Pastor in Richmond area churches. He planted and served Swift Creek Presbyterian (Moseley, VA) from 1990–2003.
Richard has led numerous short term mission teams to countries in Latin America, Africa, and Asia. Richard studied at the Oxford Centre for Mission Studies and received his PhD in missiology from Middlesex University (London) in 2014. From 2014 until 2024, he led Frontier Fellowship as Executive Director. Frontier Fellowship mobilizes churches to bring the Good News to least-reached people groups in Asia and Africa. Richard retired from Frontier Fellowship in May of 2024.
He has taught mission history in Perspectives on the World Christian Movement classes since 2004. He taught missiology to seminary students in Nagaland (India) and Nepal in March of 2025. Richard serves on the boards of two mission entities: The Antioch Partners and The New Wilmington Mission Conference.
In his leisure time, he enjoys fly-fishing, reading poetry, birding, listening to jazz and gardening. Richard and Pam live in Chesterfield, Virginia and have three daughters and 9 grandchildren. Two daughters and their families live in Chesterfield near their grandparents. The eldest daughter and family live in Thailand and serve as cross-cultural missionaries. Richard and Pam have been married for 50 years.