MEET OUR
TEAM
Dr. Eric & Brittany Gibbs
Eric and Brittany began Live Love Ministries in 2010 after answering God’s call to serve the Gila River Indian Community and the Tohono O’Odham Nation in Southern Arizona. They were commissioned by the North American Mission Board as Church Planters and Ministry Coordinators. From the beginning their heart has been to reach people with the gospel and equip those that they reach to become missionaries to their own communities and beyond.
Eric and Brittany came to Arizona with two children, but God has faithfully grown and continues to grow their family through adoption, foster care, and community involvement. Eric graduated from Mid-Continent University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Church Leadership and Development, from Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary with a Master’s of Missiology, and Gateway Seminary with a Doctor of Ministry. Brittany’s passion for serving others lead her to complete her Bachelor’s of Social Work from Arizona State University.
Through partnerships with churches, the addition of missionaries, and the growth of Live Love Ministries, God has allowed us to see numerous people come to faith in Christ. God continues to expand the reach of Live Love Ministries beyond the borders of the reservation to the ends of the earth with partnerships in DR Congo, Malawi, & Cambodia.
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Julia Curtis
Julia’s first trip to Arizona was in the Summer of 2014 and her life was forever changed. The following summer she interned with Live Love Ministries and continued to make trips to Arizona while she was in college. Over time, she realized that the Lord was calling her to full-time mission work in Arizona serving Native communities. Julia graduated from Murray State University in 2017 with her Bachelor's Degree in Organizational Communication and a Minor in Nonprofit Leadership Studies. She is currently attending Gateway Seminary and is pursuing her Master’s Degree in Global Engagement.
Julia’s main roles with Live Love Ministries are teaching children, discipling teenage girls, and leading Bible studies in some of the communities. She is passionate about children and teens coming to Christ at a young age and breaking cycles of darkness.
Jordan & Kayla Barton
Jordan and Kayla were born and raised in western Kentucky and have been married since 2014. Jordan graduated from the University of Kentucky in 2013 with a Bachelors of Science in Biology. He has spent the last 3 years working at a bank. Kayla has an Associates Degree in Early Childhood Education from Sullivan University, an Associates of Science in Nursing from West Kentucky Community and Technical College and a Bachelors of Science degree in Nursing from the University of Kentucky. She has been a registered nurse since 2014. God has grown their family through foster care and adoption and they now have three children who will be serving alongside them on the mission field.
In 2016 they came on their first short-term mission trip to Arizona to serve alongside Live Love Ministries. They continued coming every summer to give away backpacks and school supplies. In July of 2021 they realized God was calling them to be full time missionaries and they moved to Arizona in July of 2022.
Their primary roles with Live Love Ministries include administrative duties such as bookkeeping, planning and organizing. They will also assist the rest of the team with developing relationships and discipleship.
Jessie Burgess
Jessie is originally from St. Louis, but has spent the last 5 years in Murray, KY. She graduated from Murray State University in December 2018 with a Bachelor of Science in Biology. She currently lives in Murray and works full-time. Jessie first came to Arizona to serve alongside Live Love Ministries in March 2017. While she physically left Arizona to go back to Kentucky, a piece of her heart was left behind. Since then, she has continually made trips to help serve with Live Love Ministries — from helping with Youth Camp and Christmas in the Villages, to being our summer intern in 2018. Jessie’s primary responsibility with Live Love Ministries is centered around helping to prepare mission teams for their trip(s) to AZ. She is serving as a physically present representative of Live Love Ministries as mission teams meet to plan their trip. She assists with communication, training, planning, cultural awareness, and many other aspects of the preparation process. Having been first exposed to the mission field through participation with a mission team, Jessie understands the crucial role that teams play and the importance of being as prepared as possible before arriving on the field. Her heart is that the teams she helps would not only have a successful trip, but that God would use their time in AZ as a launching pad for a life of missions involvement.