We are excited to welcome Rev. Dr. Candace Lewis and Rev. Matt Rawle to serve as our featured speakers. They will speak on the theme of reigniting our joy in ministry. They are gifted communicators and love the local church. Here’s more about them.
Rev. Dr. Candace Lewis the President-Dean of Gammon Theological Seminary. She is an ordained elder in the Florida Conference of The United Methodist Church. From 1997-2009, Dr. Lewis was appointed as the founding pastor of the New Life Community UMC in Jacksonville, Florida. She was then appointed as the Associate General Secretary in the New Church Starts Division and later as the Executive Director of Path1 New Church Starts at the General Board of Discipleship in Nashville, Tennessee. In April oof 2021, Rev. Dr. Lewis came to Gammon after serving as a District Superintendent for 4 years in the Florida Conference. She is a graduate of the University of Florida and Gammon Theological Seminary – ITC where she received her Master of Divinity degree in May 1996. In June 2000, she graduated from the Harvard Divinity School’s Summer Leadership Institute on Faith-Based Community Economic Development. She earned a Doctorate in Ministry in Church Leadership Excellence from Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C. May 2014.
With extensive experience in church planting, pastoring, and district leadership, Dr. Lewis offers Gammon students invaluable guidance and knowledge, particularly those pursuing ordination within the United Methodist Church. As a faculty member teaching Religious Heritage courses, including United Methodist Polity & History, she generously shares her expertise, enriching the academic and spiritual journey of Gammon students.
Rev. Matt Rawle is a New Orleans native and graduate of LSU School of Music and Duke Divinity School. He is the lead pastor of Asbury United Methodist Church in Bossier City, Louisiana, and co-founder of the Hub4Innovation.
Matt is an international speaker who loves to tell an old story in a new way, especially at the intersection of pop culture and the church. He is the author of Jesus Revealed: The I Am Statements in the Gospel of John as well as The Pop in Culture Series, which includes The Heart that Grew Three Sizes, The Faith of a Mockingbird, Hollywood Jesus, The Salvation of Doctor Who, The Redemption of Scrooge, What Makes a Hero?, and The Gift of the Nutcracker.
We are delighted to welcome Rev. Matt Rawle as one of our teachers for Pastor’s School. He will help us reignite our joy.
In addition to our two speakers, Rev. Rawle and Dr. Lewis, Bishop Robin Dease will also preach.
Bishop Robin Dease is the resident bishop of the Georgia Episcopal Area of The United Methodist Church, including the North Georgia and South Georgia Conferences. She was elected bishop by the 2022 Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference of The United Methodist Church and consecrated on November 4, 2022. Her first assignment as bishop was to the North Georgia Episcopal Area of The United Methodist Church and she began service in North Georgia on January 1, 2023. On September 1, 2024, she began her next assignment as bishop of the new Georgia Episcopal Area.
Bishop Dease grew up in Brooklyn, New York, one of 13 siblings. She graduated from Claflin University in Orangeburg in 1992. She earned a master of divinity degree and a doctor of ministry degree in stewardship from Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C.
Before her election to the episcopacy, Bishop Dease served as pastor and district superintendent in the South Carolina Conference of The United Methodist Church and has been involved in numerous denominational and conference boards and committees.
Schedule
Monday
3:00 – 5:30 Check-in Pastors’ School, Ellie Harvey Room
Check-in Housing @ Epworth By the Sea
5:30 Dinner, Jinks Dining Room
7:00 Worship, Strickland
Music by Jarvis Wilson
Sermon, Bishop Robin Dease
Tuesday *
7:00 Breakfast, Dining Hall
9:00 Plenary Session 1, Rev. Dr. Candace Lewis, Strickland
10:30 Break, Pavilion
11:00 Plenary Session 2, Rev. Matt Rawle, Strickland
12:45 Lunch and free afternoon*
5:00 Dinner, Dining Hall
7:00 Worship, Strickland
Music by Jarvis Wilson
Sermon, Rev. Dr. Candace Lewis
8:15 Ice Cream Social, Smith Dining Room
Wednesday *
7:00 Breakfast, Dining Hall
9:00 Plenary Session 3, Rev. Matt Rawle, Strickland
10:30 Break, Pavilion
11:00 Plenary Session 4, Rev. Dr. Candace Lewis, Strickland
12:45 Lunch and free afternoon**
5:00 Dinner, Dining Hall
Thursday *
7:00 Breakfast, Dining Hall
9:00 Plenary Session 5, Strickland
10:30 Break (please check out of room during this time)
11:00 Closing Worship, Strickland
Music by Jarvis Wilson
Message, Rev. Matt Rawle
Communion, Bishop Robin Dease
12:45 Adjournment/Benediction, Rev. Dr. Ivelisse Quiñones
Lunch, Dining Hall
* The Youth will meet in Clary 1 and Jones Craft; Children will meet in Classrooms 1 and 2
** Options to explore St. Simons; Jekyll Island; Brunswick