Pastor Riley, a native of Charlotte, North Carolina, was saved at the age of 16 and answered the call to ministry in 1983. As a young man coming to accept Christ as his Savior and Lord, his calling in life became very clear. He developed a heart for evangelism and has ministered in several local churches. In 1998, Pastor Riley began full-time ministry as Pastor of Outreach and Evangelism with a respected local ministry. In 2003, he joined the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. As a member of the Crusades Ministries team, he traveled throughout the United States, Canada and Africa helping to develop crusades and teaching congregations evangelism strategies to impact their city with the gospel of Jesus Christ.