St. Andrew UMC to Host Anniversary Celebration

The first St. Andrew United Methodist Church service was held at Shepton High School on Sept. 7, 1986.

St. Andrew United Methodist Church will host a thirty-fifth anniversary and open house celebration from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. August 15. It will be the official grand reopening of the church’s campus. New programming expansions were completed at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic but never fully opened.

The occasion will also recognize the legacy of founding pastor Rev. Robert Hasley. He will be succeeded by Rev. Arthur Jones, who will officially become the church’s senior pastor on July 1.

“I have been praying about the future leadership of this church for years now, and I could not be more excited that Arthur Jones will lead St. Andrew into the future,” Hasley said. “Arthur embodies who we are called by God to be in a family of faith. We see the love of God in him as well as a pastoral presence. He is Christ-centered in his leadership, he is grace-filled, and he is biblically-based. Every time he preaches, he challenges us to be all that God created us to be with grace and boldness.”

Jones has been with St. Andrew for the past 11 years.  Prior to that, he served on staff for ZOE Ministry, a United Methodist Ministry that empowers AIDS orphans in Africa to live lives free of the cycle of poverty and dependency. He received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Kansas and his Master of Divinity degree from Duke Divinity School.

Jones grew up in Prosper, Howe, Commerce, and Highland Village, where his father was a pastor and professor at Southern Methodist University before being elected as a bishop in the United Methodist Church. Jones and his wife, Becky, have two children, Sam and Ella Reece.

“I know that God has great plans for us, and I’m excited to raise my family in this place we already call home,” Jones said. “I want Robert Hasley to know how much I, along with our entire church family, love and appreciate him. He has led this church for the past 34 and a half years, and it is such a blessing to look at all that has been accomplished under his leadership.”

 

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