New SCC Conference Minister Rev. Phil Hodson Affirmed Saturday, April 17th
Submitted by Rev. Nikki Stahl, SCC Board of Directors President
[Note: An Introduction Statement from Rev. Hodson can be found here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/15p4GGRVI_FgtcJPqrh6o7ld4aUOuwjnx/view]
The South Central Conference is excited to announce that at Special Meeting held Saturday, April 17th members of the conference voted to affirm the selection of Rev. Hodson as our next Conference Minister. Rev. Hodson will officially begin his work in the South Central Conference on July 15th.
A bit about Rev. Hodson from Rev. Vanessa Monroe, Chair of Search Committee, as spoken at first Meet & Greet: “Rev. Hodson comes to us from Wichita United Church of Christ in Kansas where he currently serves as pastor. Rev. Hodson has also spent a significant time pastoring in the United Methodist Church. He has experience planting churches including knocking on doors; revitalizing churches – finding what is within a particular congregation that is to be celebrated in a way that perhaps widens the welcome, or creates new interests, or allows people in a community to realize what has been sitting there all along. Rev. Hodson has even merged churches when congregants agree that they are stronger together. During the pandemic, as we all pivoted, Rev. Hodson guided his congregation in the creation of a film studio. He will for us be an advocate for our camp. He has served on the Board of Directors on Campus Ministry in Oklahoma, has taught mission insight strategies to congregations, and has worked on the vision process for the Kansas Conference. Rev Hodson is a successful grant writer and has excellent business [experience creating] strategies for growth. Rev. Hodson comes to us prepared to begin to walk alongside our board and our congregations as we seek to live more fully into the call of our God for this day and this time.”
If you are interested in learning more about Rev. Hodson, you can watch the Meet & Greets where you can see relationships already being formed.
A special thanks to the Search Committee: Rev. Vanessa Monroe, Cesar Baptista, Bessie Griffin, Debra Joseph, Rev. Jacqueline Lamensky, Rev. Joshua Lawrence, Marilyn Reyes, Rev. Neil Thomas, and Arlene Turner. And also to Rev. Lee Albertson who helped resource and guide the search committee. If you know any of these individuals, please reach out and thank them personally. You can get a glimpse of the huge amount of work that they accomplished in a relatively short time frame (and during a pandemic) by reviewing the search process they followed.
We look forward to God’s spirit working through Rev. Hodson as he guides us as Conference Minister. We are excited and hopeful of our next steps as the South Central Conference and all the ways in which our local congregations/ministry settings, camp, and partners in ministry will benefit as well!
In an effort to help with the transition, the Board of Directors approved extending Rev. Campbell Lovett’s call through September 30th. Between June 15th and September 30th, Rev. Lovett will work 1/4 time with his sole purpose of tying up loose ends (Jun 15th – Jul 14th) and then to be a resource to Rev. Hodson (Jul 15 – Sept 30th). We are grateful for your continued support – including monetary – and for the acquisition of a second PPP loan to allow this gift to happen.
Again, we are excited and we welcome Rev. Hodson, his wife Joelle, and their four boys (Xander, Xane, Xackary and Xavier) to the South Central Conference!
Peace,
Rev. Nikki Stahl
President of the Conference Board of Directors
