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 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 Dr. 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 was 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.  Scott is a member of the
Epsilon Kappa Lambda Honor Society.
      Throughout his Christian life, Scott has been active in various Christian ministries - not only as a pastor, but also teaching both adult and teen Sunday School classes, involvement with church building programs and visitation outreach ministries, leading martial arts ministries, conducting marriage seminars, teaching classes and seminars on
Creation Science and Bible Prophecy, and preaching in revival meetings as an evangelist. 
      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 (June) of that same year,
and continue to this day.

​       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 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 (Corning, NY), Cazenovia College (Cazenovia, NY), Excelsior University (formerly known as Regents College - Albany, NY), Elmira College (Elmira, NY), and Los Angeles Development Church & Institute (Los Angeles, CA).  Her fields of study have included Human Services, Criminal Justice, Psychology, Education (teaching), and Nursing.  Samantha 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 marriage conflict resolution mediator, as well 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 six children together (Atreyu, Rosabelle, Vincent, Lotus, Saphira, and Iris).  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 a graduate of Savannah College of Art & Design with a Bachelor's Degree in Animation.  David is a graduate of Elmira High School and Corning Community College, where he earned an Associate's Degree in Fine Arts. 
      After David we have Caitlynne - who is currently working for the Chemung County Health Dept. in the WIC program.  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 is stationed in Nebraska, where he lives with his wife, Alyssa (Nash), and their son, Théoden.  Matthew and Alyssa are are foster parents, currently doing foster care, and they are also expecting their second child as well.  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 currently lives in Corning, NY, with her husband, Chris ("Cod") Coddington.  Kendelynne and Cod have two children together - Hunter, and Autumn. Kendelynne is a graduate of
Elmira High School.
       The remaining four children (Colin, d'Artagnan, Scarlett, and Juliet) all reside at home.  d'Artagnan, Scarlett, and Juliet currently attend the "Sword & Trowel Christian Academy" (the name given to the Spencer family's home school) - where Colin has just become their school's first Alumni, in 2026.

       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!