College Place United Methodist Church

HOPE | LOVE | BELONG

Staff

Rev. Dr. Jason Harvey

Pastor

He says, “If you are looking for a faith home, I’d love to visit with you any Sunday or in my office. God is truly full of grace, mercy and love for every part of the created order who laughs and cries, mourns and hopes, engages and challenges us to live in our world as the body of Christ.”

Faithful living for Jason includes meaningful worship, fellowship, deepened knowledge through study, discerning God’s desire for life and action, and working for justice for all of creation. Yet he even understands the simplest of things to be events where God is present in our lives, like a good cup of coffee or excellent meal shared with friends, a walk around the block on a nice afternoon with his Golden Retriever named Rosie, shuffling through a neat museum, out in the garden, watching live news coverage of “big” events, or flipping the pages of the New Yorker or The Christian Century magazines.

While educational development is of critical importance to his understanding of a faithful life, he also attempts to share with others the grace and love that has been shared with him by God, the church, his family, friends, co-workers, and strangers. Some biblical scholars suggest that the distillation of the Gospel’s message has been captured in I John, chapter four, that “God is love”, and we are encouraged to share the love we have received with others.

The Reverend Dr. Jason Harvey was appointed as pastor of College Place Church in July 2011. He grew up near Winston-Salem (in Germanton), so living in Greensboro has a feeling of being home again. His B.S. degree was awarded in 1998 by Appalachian State University in History, Secondary Education. During his time at Appalachian, he was both participant and leader in the Wesley Foundation campus ministry. Although, a life-long United Methodist, his Master of Divinity degree was awarded by Union Theological Seminary and Presbyterian School of Christian Education in Richmond, Virginia (now known as Union Presbyterian Seminary) in 2001. His time in Richmond included three years of connection with Boulevard United Methodist Church in the Fan District. He completed his Doctor of Ministry degree track “Preaching in the 21st Century” from Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, DC in May 2013. His project title was “Literature and Culture in Conversation for the Proclamation of the Holy Gospel” which focused on the use of literature as a springboard for preaching the Gospel’s message.

He was commissioned Elder in 2001 and first appointed as associate pastor of First UMC in Morganton. In 2004, he was appointed to Broad Street UMC in Statesville as the associate pastor. In 2005, he was ordained Elder in the Western North Carolina Conference. While in Statesville, from 2007 until May 2011, he was a part-time instructor at Mitchell Community College in Statesville teaching three introductory courses: “Old Testament” and “New Testament” and “World Religions”. 

His time-to-time musings, past sermons and other things can be found on his blog at www.vastcanopy.wordpress.com.

Paul Freeman

Assistant Pastor

Paul is a lifelong Methodist and has been a part of leadership and worship in local churches since a young age. A native of Kernersville, Paul has called the Triad home his entire life and has played an important role in The Reconciling Ministries network in the Western North Carolina Conference of the UMC.

He graduated from Greensboro College with honors, a bachelor of art degree in History in 2017, and completed his M.Div at Wake Forest School of Divinity in 2021.

Paul is passionate about issues of Justice and caring for those in need. Prior to joining the staff here, he served Morehead United Methodist Church and St. Timothy’s United Methodist Church.

Rev. Dr. Robert Brewer

Director of Outreach and Worship Arts

Rev. Dr. Robert W. Brewer is a United Methodist minister and serves as the Campus Chaplain and Assistant Professor of Religion at Greensboro College in Greensboro, North Carolina since 2005.  Robert received his Doctor of Theology in homiletics from the University of Toronto. At Greensboro College he oversees religious life and community service, and teaches courses in spiritual development, hermeneutics, homiletics, Methodism, and juggling.

He is a contributor to “The New Interpreters Theological Companion to the Lectionary” and the “Common English Student Bible.”  He has spoken at various events including Summit, NC Kaleidoscope, and the Canadian National Youth Conference. He is also a certified professional coach and works with ministers in North Carolina to renew their passion for preaching.  He is also a singer/songwriter and has an album that was released in February 2017.

Susan Young

Director of Music

Susan joined the staff of College Place in 2001. She is a graduate of Appalachian State University with a Bachelor’s degree in Music Education. She received a Master’s in Accompanying from UNCG. She serves as vocal coach and accompanist on the staff of Greensboro College, where her main responsibilities are the performances of their opera and music theatre productions. Susan lives in Greensboro with her husband, Kevin, and their three children, Jonathan, Lauren and Emma.