Chris Ritchie is a husband, father to four amazing children, a third generation worship leader, pastor, independent filmmaker, and actor. He carries a deep passion for leading people into the glorious songs of worship and releasing the sounds of Heaven.

The music and entertainment bug hit Chris as a young man. Always dreaming of playing on the big stage and acting in film, he was driven to pursue both music and acting. In college he and his older brother bounced from band to band, eventually forming the Christian alternative/pop rock group called, "Salt The Band". Their debut album Mr. Brown was released in 1999. Christianity Today heralded them as one of the top 10 unsigned Christian bands in 1999. "If you’ve ever wanted to be into a band before they broke big, now’s your chance" they wrote. They would go on to play festivals with Petra, Audio Adrenaline, The Katina Boys, Plumb, Christafari, Skillet, and many other popular CCM acts of the late 90's early 2000's. Toby Mac personally asked Chris if he would audition to be a DC TALK dancer, to which Chris declined.

After nearly ten years as an independent band, Salt The Band decided to call it quits. They did however have six months of shows scheduled and were committed to fulfilling their obligations. It was during that six month period that a starter record label named Fervent Records offered to sign them to a recording contract. They would be the third band on the label joining Big Daddy Weave and By The Tree. But staying true to their belief that God had called them to walk away, they refused the deal. In 2005 Fervent Records was bought out by Word Records.

Chris Ritchie currently serves as the Lead Pastor at Encounter Church Vegas.