Dr. Scott Thomas Spencer is the pastor of the Sword & Trowel Revival Fellowship.  The story of his walk with God began at 10 years of age when he got saved at a play put on by Word of Life International in Syracuse, NY, on November 7, 1987.  The name of the play was, "The Revelation".  As Scott watched in horror at the dramatization of events of the Earth's "last days", he knew that he was destined to be lost (just like those depicted in the play) if he continued down the path he was on.  Crying out for God to save him, and repenting of his sins, Scott received the Lord Jesus Christ into his heart on that day.
       After graduating from High School (Horseheads, NY), Scott enlisted in the United States Navy - with plans on making a career out of military service.  That plan took a change of course in 1997, however, when he (while still serving on Active Duty) felt the Holy Spirit's call on his life to be involved in full-time Christian service.  Three years later, after attending a tent revival meeting with the Evangelist Jack Parchman, the Holy Spirit clarified the nature of that calling by burdening Scott's heart to become a preacher of the Gospel.  Scott surrendered to that call, and shortly thereafter began attending Bible College to prepare himself for what lay ahead.
       Scott enrolled at Baptist Bible College (Springfield, MO) for a short period of time; before leaving to attend Bible Baptist Institute (Horseheads, NY), where he continued to study for the next several years.  He subsequently attended several different Evangelical schools and Bible institutes; including Christian Leaders Institute (Spring Lake, MI), Missionary Chapel and Seminary (Nashville, TN), and Saint Luke Evangelical School of Biblical Studies (Augusta, GA).  Scott has a Bachelor of Arts in Biblical Studies, as well as a Bachelor's Degree in Theology; Masters' Degrees in both Theology and Divinity; a PhD in Biblical Studies, Doctor of Theology, and an honorary Doctor of Divinity (honoris causa).  Scott is a member of the Epsilon Kappa Lambda Honor Society.
      Throughout his Christian life, Scott has been involved in various ministry roles, and in varying capacities - including teaching both adult and teen Sunday School classes, working with visitation outreach ministries, involvement with church building programs, and teaching classes on Creation Science and Bible Prophecy.  Beginning in the Spring of the year 2000, Scott headed up the "Sword of the LORD Martial Arts Ministries" (a community outreach ministry of Bible Baptist Church in Horseheads, NY), where he taught karate, self-discipline, and self-defense lessons for free to anyone who wanted to learn - after which, in each class, he would share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with all those who came.  The ministry ran weekly for approximately 5 years until coming to an end in 2005.
      Scott was officially ordained into the Christian ministry in May of 2020 by Saint Luke Evangelical Christian Ministries; and an Independent Church Charter granted to him to start the "Sword & Trowel Revival Fellowship", by the same, at that time.  Services were first held at the Spencer family home the following month, in June, of that same year.

​       Samantha Lynne Spencer is the wife of our Pastor, and coordinator of our church's homeschool Co-op ministry.  The story of Samantha's testimony differs greatly from that of her husband.  Raised in a secular home (in which the name of God was most often used only in cursing, or as a byword in passing); Samantha did not come to know the LORD until later in life.  After graduating from high school and college, Samantha followed in the footsteps of her father to become a Corrections Officer.  It was there (while working for the Corrections Division of the Chemung County Sheriff's Office in Elmira, NY) that she became friends with a couple of fellow officers - who just so happened to be Christians.  Every day these officers would share the Gospel with her, read the Bible to her, and "force" her to listen to Christian music.  One Sunday morning (in order to "shut them up"), Samantha attended a church service with them at the Central Assembly of God in Horseheads, NY.  What was intended to be a "one time thing", however, became a more and more frequent occurrence - and before long, Samantha was attending church there on a regular basis.
      Going to church, however, makes a person about as "Christian" as eating cat food makes them a cat - and even though Samantha now attended church regularly, she still had not yet received the Lord Jesus Christ into her heart.  It wasn't until a couple of years later, after a series of major personal tragedies had struck, that God was finally able to get her attention.  During those moments of grief and despair, when she felt she had lost everything that had any meaning to her (at all) in life, Samantha finally came to the place in life where she was "low enough" that she had no where to look but "up".  It was at that time that she witnessed a dove descend from the sky, and land upon a wall right next to where she was standing.  To this day, Samantha believes that Dove was actually the Holy Spirit in bodily form - and that He came to visit her when she was at the lowest point of her life.  Whether that dove was indeed the Holy Spirit, or not, God used that dove to speak to her broken heart.  It was at that moment that all of the things she had heard in church over the past couple of years became shockingly real.  Falling to her knees, and crying out for God to save her, Samantha received the Lord Jesus Christ into her heart on that day.
       A life-long student of learning, Samantha attended several different institutions of higher education after graduating from high school at Elmira Free Academy (Elmira, NY); including Corning Community College, Cazenovia College, Excelsior College (formerly known as Regents College), Elmira College, and Los Angeles Development Church & Institute.  Her fields of study have included Human Services, Criminal Justice, Psychology, Education (teaching), and Nursing.  She has an Associate of Applied Science in Human Services, an Associate of Applied Science in Criminal Justice, a Bachelor of Science in Psychology, a Master's Degree in Theocentric Psychology (honoris causa), and a Doctor of Christian Education (honoris causa).
       In addition to working with the Chemung County Sheriff's Dept. as a Corrections Officer, Samantha has also served her community by working as a domestic abuse, rape, and crisis counselor.  She currently teaches the Spencer family's youngest four children through homeschooling, and also serves as the co-ordinator of the Sword and Trowel Christian Homeschool Co-op - a ministry of our church where other parents (interested in homeschooling their children) can come to for guidance, encouragement, and support.

       Scott and Samantha share a combined total of nine children - the oldest five of whom are grown and living on their own; while the youngest four still reside at home. 
      Beginning chronologically (from oldest to youngest) is Jeannie - who has recently moved to upstate NY with her husband, Nick (Torres), and their four children together (Atreyu, Rosabelle, Vincent, and Lotus).  Nick and Jeannie previously lived in San Diego, California; where Nick was stationed while serving on active duty in the United States Navy.
      Following after Jeannie is David - who is currently attending Savannah College of Art & Design; working towards his Degree (majoring) in Animation.  David is a graduate of Elmira High School and Corning Community College, and has an Associate's Degree in Fine Arts. 
      After David we have Caitlynne - who is currently attending Grand Canyon University; majoring in Early Childhood Education and Special Education.  Caitlynne is a graduate of Elmira High School, and currently lives in Elmira, NY with her daughter, Alora.
      The next child on the list is Matthew - who lives in California with his wife, Alyssa (Nash), and their son, Théoden.  Matthew is a graduate of Victory Baptist Academy (Bath, NY), and is currently serving on active duty as a Seabee in the United States Navy.
      Following Matthew is Kendelynne - who is the "youngest of the oldest five".  Kendelynne is a graduate of Elmira High School, and currently resides in Elmira, NY as well.
       The remaining four children (Colin, d'Artagnan, Scarlett, and Juliet) all reside at home.  Those who are old enough to be in school currently attend the Sword & Trowel Christian Academy - which is the name given to the home school (or home education program) that is run by the Spencer family out of their home.

       We thank you for taking a moment of your time to learn more about our Pastor and his family.  Now that you know a little bit more about who we are, we would love to have you visit us for church sometime!  Whether joining us for worship in person, or watching our services online, you are always welcome at the Sword & Trowel Revival Fellowship!