Welcome Pastor Ronnie and Melanie Bearden

Our new pastor is Dr. Ronnie Bearden. Ronnie Bearden is a native of the Gulf Coast and feels right at home in our area.

He is married to Melanie Brobston of Baxley, Georgia. They met at Asbury Seminary and have been married for 33 years. Melanie is a homemaker. She enjoys crafts, reading, yardwork, and caring for Ladybug (her "empty nest Chihuahua"). Melanie’s favorite place to vacation is the mountains of North Georgia. Ronnie and Melanie have two adult children.

Ronnie’s hobbies include playing pool, deer hunting, and fishing, but his favorite hobby is model trains. He has published almost 100 articles in model train magazines and was voted one of the top ten N scale modelers of the decade in 2000 by N-Scale Magazine.

Ronnie earned an undergraduate degree in Chemistry and sensed God’s call into full-time ministry in his senior year. He holds two theological Masters degrees (Asbury Seminary and Union Theological Seminary) and a Ph.D. in Communication from Regent University. He has served United Methodist churches in Alabama, Florida, Virginia, and Georgia and is a sought after Camp Meeting preacher.

His passions are helping people understand who Jesus is and preaching the Word of God to equip God’s people for service.  He's also a ventriloquist.

Pastor Ronnie and Melanie’s first official day here at FUMC will be Sunday, July 7. He will be preaching in all three services. They will also be our special guests, along with the staff of the United Methodist Children’s Home Teen Center, at our next CommUNITY Dinner on Wednesday, July 10.

Let’s plan on giving them a warm FUMC welcome!