Leadership

Rev. Eric Watkins, Ph.D., Senior Pastor

Eric B. Watkins

Eric Watkins grew up in a non-Christian military home in North Carolina. His teenage years were dark and dangerous, clearly preserved by the grace of God. He came to Christ at age 21, ironically while following the Grateful Dead around the country. At the end of a long, strange trip, someone gave him a Bible to read, and in the pages of Scripture,he met the Lord Jesus Christ, who convicted him of his sins and comforted him with the gospel of grace. This began the hard process of learning how to read the Bible and how to live what it teaches—a process which ultimately led to falling in love with the Reformed faith.

Theological University Kampen

Since becoming a Christian, Pastor Eric has been a life-long student. His first degree is an A.A. in Therapeutic Recreation. He received his B.S. in Biblical Studies from Southeastern Bible College. He became curious about the biblical languages and the Reformed faith in Bible College, and thus continued on to Westminster Theological Seminary in California where he earned his Master of Divinity (with a counseling minor). Questions related to church history led him to pursue a ThM in Reformation studies from Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando. In May of 2016, he graduated with a PhD in Homiletics (preaching) from the Theological University in Kampen, the Netherlands.

Pastor Eric Preaching at Covenant

Pastor Eric has been a minister in the OPC since 2001, following a year-long internship at Harvest OPC in Vista, CA. He was first an associate pastor and then a church planter in Orlando, FL. He came to Saint Augustine to plant Covenant Presbyterian Church in late 2007.

Pastor Eric strongly believes in preaching Christ from all of Scripture for all of life, and is passionate about evangelism, discipleship, and the beauty of Reformed worship. He hopes to be at CPC for a long time, and rejoices at the great work that God is doing in the church.

One of Eric’s favorite pasttimes

God has given Pastor Eric a wonderful wife in Heather. They were married in 1996 and spent their honeymoon here in St. Augustine. They now have three delightful children, Kirra, Carl, and Liam. Eric’s mother Neda also lives with the family. The Watkins are hoping to adopt more children in the near future.

Pastor Eric’s pastimes are surfing, beach volleyball, and playing guitar; but above all, he loves being with his family.

Rev. Bill Hobbs

William M. Hobbs was called to be the part-time associate pastor of Covenant in October of 2016, after retiring as pastor of Calvary Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Tallahassee, which he served for 24 years. He holds degrees from Davidson College, the University of Virginia, and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary.

Before entering the ministry, he was a cost accountant in North Carolina and a diaconal missionary in Africa. He is married to Mimi, has two children, four grandchildren, and four greyhounds. In his spare time, he enjoys gardening and reading mysteries.

Elders

Phil Montgomery

Elder

Phil Montgomery

Phil became a Christian at the University of Michigan, and soon developed a heart for evangelism. Phil appreciates both the joy of sharing the gospel and the encouragement of God enabling him to do what doesn’t come naturally. Recently retired from the software industry, Phil and his wife, Lea, enjoy golf and time at the beach.

Bill Anderson

Elder

Bill Anderson

Bill is married to Sharon with 1 adult daughter and 1 granddaughter. He is a retired Medical Oncologist and Hematologist, most recently from the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. Bill came to Covenant from the Fourth Presbyterian Church in Maryland and enjoys wildlife photography, swimming, and surf fishing.

Joe Provenza

Elder

Joe Provenza

Joe and his wife Melinda have four adult children. After serving many years in IT leadership roles, he is currently an analyst for Gartner. Joe enjoys time with family, playing various musical instruments (none of which he will ever be any good at), and an occasional round of sporting clays.

Tarrence Dickerson

Elder

Tarrence Dickerson

Born and raised in St. Augustine, Tarence is married to Patricia and has 3 daughters and 8 grandchildren. He is especially grateful for the focus at Covenant on loving both the Word of God and the God of the Word and is committed to his role of serving the body and strengthening the church in its faithfulness to God.

Doug Duggan

Elder

Doug Duggan

Doug loves welcoming visitors to Covenant, having lived and traveled all over. He is married, with 3 adult children and 11 grandchildren. Doug works in real estate, with prior experience in aerospace and technology, and enjoys playing guitar, weightlifting, and reading.

Edward 't Hart

Elder

Edward 't Hart

Ed is husband to Emily and father of 2 beautiful girls. He works as a metallurgist/process engineer in mineral processing/mining.
Ed grew up in Australia, and joined Covenant in 2015 when he moved to the area from Canada.

Deacons

Rob Price

Deacon

Rob Price

Robert is married to Jayme and has 4 young children, 3 girls and 1 boy. He grew up in Jacksonville and only left when he served in the Army from 2006-2010, 14 months of which was spent in Iraq. He currently works at GORUCK. He enjoys CrossFit, hunting turkey, and Florida Gator football.

Jesse Laprees

Deacon

Jesse Laprees

Bio coming soon

Stephen Kyle

Deacon

Stephen Kyle

Stephen is married to Allison and they have two children. A financial planner in Jacksonville, he and his family have been attending Covenant since 2015 after previously attending Calvary OPC in Tallahassee, FL. Stephen enjoys spending time with family, listening to music, and reading.