Meet The Pastor
Bishop and Senior Pastor Jason Crowder
The Rt. Rev. Jason W. Crowder
Pastor & Founder
I started my walk in ministry when I was a young musician playing in various churches and following where the Lord led me. Later on as I grew in the Lord he saw fit to put more responsibilities on my shoulders. He led me to keep doing Music Ministry but also accepting the call to be a ministry of word and sacraments.
I started doing small home missions and bible study groups and then became the assistant Rector of St. Matthias Mission in Lenoir City. It was while being the assistant Rector that I started walking in my journey of becoming a local pastor with the UMC, first becoming a lay speaker and working with lay ministry after becoming a member of the Order of St. Luke. It was during this journey that I had to step away from active ministry because of my professional career as a law enforcement officer.
I had been out of ministry for close to a year when an opportunity came for me to accept another position so that I would be able to return to active ministry. Unfortunately I wasn't able to return to ministry in the UMC and God led me to a mission church that operates within the First United Methodist Church of Sweetwater. It was while filling in behind the pulpit for the pastor and serving as the music director/minister for the mission that I sought holy orders and unfortunately a non-denominational church cannot issue license or ordination for holy orders. That is when I started to really pray for God to lead me and guide me where he wanted me to minister.
I have kept with my original teachings in the church and Wesleyan teachings as well, for example I still use the UMC book of Worship as the primary book for my services within the church as well as the 1928 BCP on occasions when I am in Nashville at the main church.
The Right Rev. Jason Crowder took office as the 1st Bishop and Presiding Elder of the Methodist Episcopal Church on June 10, 2022.