Missionary Spotlight ~ J.R. & Eliza Foster, Virginia

Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Edward “J.R.” Foster, Jr. was raised in New Jersey, moving south in 1989 to attend Clemson University. It was during his sophomore year at Clemson that J.R. came to a saving knowledge of the Gospel. Immediately, he involved himself in Clemson’s chapter of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, later becoming active in Reformed University Fellowship under campus minister, David Sinclair. While at Clemson, J.R. earned both a B. A. in English and a M. Ed. in Higher Education.

After working for a year in development, J.R. began sensing his call to the ministry. Shortly thereafter, he entered Reformed Theological Seminary in Charlotte, NC, graduating in 1999 with a M. Div. Since seminary graduation, J.R. was ordained in the Presbyterian Church in America and served as the RUF campus minister at Florida State University for five years. In Spring 2004, J.R. accepted a call to begin a new RUF work at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, where he and his family currently reside. He is married to the former Eliza Legare Pender of Columbia, SC, whom he met while they were both students at Clemson. J.R. and Eliza are also the parents of two sons, Ethan (8) and Blake (5), and a daughter, Abbey (3).