Area 10 Faith Community
Area 10 Faith Community, Richmond's contemporary church at The Byrd Theatre.
A10 Staff
Chris Barras grew up just north of Tampa, Florida, which explains a lot about his irrational love for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He left as soon as he could and moved up north to attend Cincinnati Christian University, where he earned his Bachelor of Church Music degree. Chris and his wife Abby (also a church music major at CCU) moved to Colorado for two years and served at a large church. They then moved to Virginia Beach and started having little babies (three boys, to be exact). The Barras Family moved to Richmond in January 2006. Once in the River City, Chris worked full time at Starbucks and part time with a great church plant in Short Pump. In March 2008, Chris left those jobs to launch Area 10 Faith Community. Today -- when he's not working for the church -- Chris enjoys NFL football, golf, soccer, music, reading, and playing with his family.
Tommy has spent most of his life living in Shreveport, Louisiana (aka the Ratchet City), where he met his wife Ashley. He received his Bachelor of Arts in Christian Ministry from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. In the past 10 years, Tommy has led worship in a variety of churches and events as well as being involved in the development of two church plants in Shreveport, LA. In January 2012, he and his family moved to Richmond to serve at Area 10 as the Creative Arts Pastor. Tommy has a passion for connecting people with Christ through both music and the Word. He also has a passion for seeing the Church on mission, and before moving to Richmond, he and his wife spent a year in Bethlehem teaching and serving in various ministries. Tommy is a big New Orleans Saints’ fan, which can cause some tension in the office with the Buc’s fan, but Tommy doesn’t think it’s even a rivalry because of the talent disparity between both teams. When not serving at Area 10, Tommy spends as much time as he can with his wife Ashley, daughters Eden and Emmeline, and his dog Deacon. He loves movies, gaming, exploring, and anything sports.
Nicole is originally from Portland, Oregon, but has lived in both Iowa and Ohio. She graduated with a degree in English and Secondary Education, and taught for two years before getting actively more involved in ministry. Nicole recently moved to Virginia for her husband, Grant's, residency, and left her job as the Director of Outreach and Events at a church in Portland. She loves her sweet dog Copper, meeting new people, playing lots and lots of golf and making/eating food! Nicole is passionate about justice and creating unity. Her hope is to continue to bring organizations, people of faith, and other groups together to continue to expand and build on God's Kingdom.
Laura is originally from Allentown, PA, but fell in love with Richmond when she attended VCU. She made Richmond her home after graduating from VCU with a degree in Psychology. She has served in ministry in a variety of ways in churches and community organizations for almost 20 years. Her experience ranges from youth ministry to video and graphic design. Of her many ministries over the years, her favorite is teaching and mentoring women through small groups, Bible studies and retreats. At A10 she wears many hats, resposible for the finances, database, website, graphic design, small groups, women's discipleship and is one of our teachers Sunday morning. When she isn't working she has fun hanging out with her husband, Doug, gardening, working out with SEAL Team PT (Hooyah!) and seeing all that RVA has to offer.
Landon was born and raised on the Outer Banks, NC, which is where he met his best friend, turned fiancee, turned wife, Jo Beth. He attended Mid-Atlantic Christian University where he received a Bachelors in Biblical Exposition and General Ministry, a Minor in Church Music, and a Certificate in Family Life Education. While in attendance at MACU Landon was heavily involved in the recruitment and worship programs for the university that traveled all over the United States building relationships through music and relational ministry. Landon was also the commuting Intern/Interim Worship Leader at Area 10 Faith Community in Richmond, VA which helped build the bridge for his love of VCU and the city that it resides in. Landon enjoys playing music often, watching and playing sports, pretending to skateboard, drinking good coffee, listening to vinyl, and walking around Richmond with his wife.