New Pastor Makes His Mark

PASTOR PROFILE

The Rev. John Robbins has been in town only three months, but he is already making his mark on his new church.

Robbins, a Texas native, is the new senior pastor at Central United Methodist Church in Fayetteville. His last appointment was as senior pastor at Marvin United Methodist Church in Tyler, Texas, where he served for seven years. His appointment at Central began July 1. He replaces the Rev. Tony Holifield, who retired in June after serving 18 years as Central’s senior pastor.

“I think fresh eyes sometimes enable somebody to come in and say we need to do something different,” he said.

Two of the first changes Robbins requested were redesigning the church bulletin and email newsletter and putting signs up around campus.

The changes to the church’s literature includes the removal of what Robbinscalled “generic pictures” of “good-looking white families.”

Robbins said the photos conveyed the message that Central lacks diversity.

“I wanted to get away from the subtle message - that, quite frankly, is not so subtle sometimes - that this is what we look like. Weneed diversity, and that’s a great challenge in the church,” he said. “We are here for everybody. Everybody needs Christ - everybody. It doesn’t matter your age, your marital status, your gender, your race or anything else.”

The material now features a photo of the church’s sanctuary with blue sky and white clouds in the background.

The church has spent $14,000 on new signs since Robbins’ arrival, he said. The signs are placed on the buildings and in the parking areas with arrows pointing to the buildings.

“Many of the people have been here a long time, and they know where everything is,” Robbins said. “We put up the signage to make ourselves more visitor-friendly.”

He said that, on his fi rst visit to the church in April, he had trouble finding the building where his meeting with staff was scheduled.

Robbins also has made changes to worship times and format and some staff members’ responsibilities, which allows for more freedom and more room for creativity, he said.

CONTINUING THE LEGACY

Central has the largestattendance of any Methodist church in the state, said Gary E. Mueller, resident bishop of the United Methodist Arkansas Conference. Membership is about 4,300. The average Sunday attendance is 1,700 to 1,800 in the four services, Robbins said. When seeking a person to fi ll the vacancy at Central, Mueller said he and former district superintendent Mackey Yokem listened to church members for the kind of leader they were seeking.

“I knew to continue the great legacy of the church, we needed a strong preacher who could proclaim the gospel, who had a real heart for God’s vision for the future, who was ready to take the church to the next level, who could reach out into the community and truly let that church be a beacon church, who knew how to build a staff and who was comfortable in a largechurch,” Mueller said. Robbins has a “wonderful track record of doing the things Central needed.”

All of the churches Robbins has served have seen growth, he said.

“There’s no cookie-cutter pattern of how to grow the church because each church - to some degree - is unique,” Robbins said. “But all of us fundamentally need the same thing. We need to hear the same thing. We need to be about the same thing.

“I think a lot of that happens when you build a good staff . A good capable staff enables a church to grow. An ineffective staff can cause all kinds of issues that keep a church from growing. I’m fortunate that I inherited an exceptional staff here,” he said.

Robbins said his focus is in on empowering the staff and the congregation, so theyknow what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ.

“If I can do that, with God’s help, then really it’s limitless in what we are capable of doing and who we are capable of reaching,” he said.

‘PERFECT FIT’

Steve Pulliam, senior associate pastor, said Robbins is the “perfect fit” for Central.

“Dr. Robbins’ infectious personality, dynamic preaching and collaborative leadership style provides tremendous energy to a very healthy church,” Pulliam said.“People are excited to be a part of a church that is growing and is actively engaged in making an impact in our community and around the world.”

Weekly worship attendance has increased, he added.

The changes Robbins has made have been welcome, P ulliam said. They are “changes that enable people to connect better with Central.”

“One thing Dr. Robbins will never do is settle for ‘what is,’” he added.

Robbins’ eagerness to leadthe church is exciting for the staff, said Fenner Russell, director of classic music and worship.

“Dr. Robbins is working diligently to know the church, other churches in the area, the culture of Northwest Arkansas and how to call the Hogs,” Russell said. “God has chosen wisely and well.”

“He is off to a great start there,” Mueller said. “I think God is going to use him in powerful ways. That church is important for the state and is going to become one of the leaders of our denomination.”

Religion, Pages 10 on 10/05/2013

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