On Sunday, January 27, it was announced that Rev. Mike Chapman has been appointed to serve as our Senior Pastor effective July 1, 2024. The Conference has decided to not reappoint Pastor Jim to our church, and he will take on new ministries. Pastors in the United Methodist Church are not members of local churches; they are members of the Annual Conference. Following the Wesleyan tradition of Iterant Pastors, clergy are appointed to local churches on a year to year basis.
Occasionally, that means we must undergo the bittersweet process of saying goodbye to our pastor and welcoming a new pastor to our community of faith.
The Sad Part…
Back in April of 2014, we learned that Rev. Jim Bolton was going to be appointed to our church, replacing Rev. Larry Potts. It was difficult to say goodbye to Rev. Potts, but it was good to welcome the Boltons to Pitman. Click Here to view that announcement. Ten years ago, the District Superintendent (Rev. Richard Nichols) called a meeting of our Staff Parish Committee to meet our new pastor. Jim and his wife Judy entered the conference room, and the pain of saying goodbye to the Pottses began to soften as we said hello to the Boltons.
Judy & Pastor Jim Bolton
But now, the time has come to say goodbye to the Boltons and to say hello to our new pastor.
Over the past ten years we’ve come to love Pastor Jim’s spin on worship: Superbowl Sundays, January Carol Sings, informal and spontaneous interactions with the congregation during the sermon. In the 500 or so sermons that Pastor Jim has delivered over the years, he’s covered passages from nearly every book in the Bible.
Health issues of the Parsonage Family have made it difficult. But Pastor Jim was always able to support us in our own times of need and to lift us up with his faith and positive outlook.
In the time that remains before July 1, we will have opportunities to reflect on how Pastor Jim has inspired us, and then to look back and celebrate his ministry with us. Here are a few glimpses of the past ten years:
The Hard Part…
Earlier in January, District Superintendent Rev. Glenn Conaway met with our Staff-Parish Relations Committee to break the news that Pastor Jim wasn’t going to be re-appointed to us. During that meeting, the DS and committee openly discussed our church’s strengths, weaknesses, needs, opportunities, and theology: everything that was needed to match the right pastor to our church.
The following was posted on the Greater NJ Annual Conference website announcing the pastoral opening at our church:
Pitman United Methodist Church is situated in the heart of Gloucester County, NJ. Our primary goal is to ensure that every person knows Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord, fostering an environment where spiritual growth can thrive.
Throughout the week, the church offers various small group Bible/Prayer studies. On Sundays, we provide children’s Sunday school and an adult Sunday School class before our blended church service at 10:15 a.m. Both the worship service and adult Sunday school are accessible online.
Additionally, we operate a Christian preschool with over 100 children attending on weekdays from September through June. To cater to the younger members of our congregation, we have a Children’s church primarily run by our Youth Group with adult supervision.
The church serves as a host for numerous outside organizations, including Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Narcotics Anonymous, Smile Today (a support group), and Pitman Park & Recreation, utilizing our fellowship hall. Throughout the year, our church organizes events such as VBS, Trunk or Treat, a Birthday party for Jesus, and a highly popular Easter egg hunt. Furthermore, we proudly continue the tradition of the summer camp meeting series in our Grove auditorium, located in the center of town.
The Glad Part!
On January 23, 2024, Rev. Conaway called another special meeting of our Staff Parrish Committee to introduce our new pastor. After much prayer and consultation with the bishop and colleagues, Rev. Mike Chapman was identified to be the best choice to be our next pastor. After sharing Pastor Mike’s background and discussing the transition process, Rev. Conaway then brought in Mike and his wife Jackie and introduced them to the committee.
Jackie & Pastor Mike Chapman
Both Mike and Jackie already have connections with Pitman! For 19 years, Pastor Mike served as the Youth Pastor and then Assistant Pastor at Aldine UMC. The Senior pastor who served with Mike all of those years at Aldine was Rev. Don Polk! Rev Polk was PUMC’s Associate Pastor in the late 1980s. And Jackie worked with Ranch Hope for many years. The founder of Ranch Hope was another former PUMC Associate Pastor, Rev. Dave Bailey.
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- Rev. Don Polk (at PUMC on 3/8/14)
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- Rev. Dave Bailey
Pastor Mike is currently serving as the lead pastor at Dennisville and Tuckahoe United Methodist Churches (a “duel-point charge”). Mike and Jackie have two children (an 18 year old son and a 6 year old daughter).
Jackie and Pastor Mike have always worked as a team. They are both are driven to share the Gospel with all people, and they have a special passion for youth ministry. Pastor Mike plays guitar, writes his own music, and has been leading worship with both traditional and contemporary elements. He and Jackie look forward to getting to know everyone in the PUMC family, meeting with people in their homes, and getting out into the community. They want become part of Pitman’s community fabric… to share this stretch of life with us. Both are excited about the opportunity to do ministry here in Pitman and to working with us to envision new ways that PUMC can continue to further the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
The appointment was announced on the Greater NJ Conference Website:
Mike Chapman is originally from Shamokin, PA, and happily found his way to South Jersey with his college sweetheart, Jackie. In 2002, Mike and Jackie answered the Lord’s call to full-time ministry after graduating from Eastern University. Mike received a Bachelor’s in Youth Ministry and a Minor in Communications (2002) and a Master of Divinity from Palmer Seminary (2012).
Mike has served and ministered at Aldine UMC for 19 years in various pastoral roles, and a two-point charge at Dennisville-Tuckahoe UMC for three years as a senior pastor.
He is a dedicated minister to a multigenerational community, within the congregation and outside the walls of the church. He is passionate about Jesus, the forgotten, the lonely, the lost, the hurting, outcasts, and empowering the body of Christ. He plays the guitar, drums, loves singing, writing music, and uses those gifts and abilities for ministry. Mike also loves an abundance of coffee! His wife, Jackie, also graduated from Eastern University, studying Social Work and youth ministry, and is certified in Special Education. Mike and Jackie are thankful parents of two miracles; Micah (18) and Grace (6).
Meet Pastor Mike…
To learn more about the ministry he and his current congregations have been doing, visit their church websites:
Pastor Mike is very active on social media. Check out the following Facebook pages to learn more about his ministry.
Pastor Mike’s Facebook Page Tuckahoe UMC Dennisville UMC
He also writes music and has posted several recordings of his songs on his YouTube channel. Here’s Pastor Mike singing his song, “God’s Not Done with You Yet” (an appropriate theme during this time of transition):
The Process…
In some respects it all seems routine. Pastors “come and go.” But in between the “come” and the “go,” we develop relationships that will never end. Together, we learn, we grow, we serve. Each pastor brings his or her own personality and gifts and adds it to the “mix” we call Pitman United Methodist Church.
In our itinerate system, pastors generally serve at a local church for 5-10 years. But a point comes when a change in leadership can breath new life into the sails. New needs and challenges develop over the years, and different talents are required to fill those needs as the years go by. The prayerful guidance of the District Superintendent along with the Bishop and cabinet (all of the Conference’s District Superintendents), discerns when the time for a change has been reached. The Conference has a wealth of inspired and qualified clergy who can fill the needs of a church. When it’s time for a pastor to leave, and time for another church to receive a new pastor, the “match” is made and pastors are moved from church to church.
Bishop John Schol (right) presents the appointment letter to pastor Jim. Lay members Jeremy Andrade and Larry Bakely receive the church’s copies of the letter.
In the United Methodist Church, Elders (or local pastors) are appointed to a church for a single year (the term runs from July 1 to June 30). Usually, the pastor is re-appointed to the same church for another year. But occasionally, it’s determined that a change is needed and a new appointment is made instead of a re-appointment.
On May 19-21. the Annual Conference will meet in Wildwood. One of the items on the agenda is the presentation of new appointments. During this ceremony, each District Superintendent reads the names of each new appointment in his/her district. The incoming pastor and the new church’s lay member to Annual Conference receive an official appointment letter from the Bishop.
At some point in late June or early July, Pastor Mike and his family will move into the Grandview Ave. parsonage, and we’ll begin to welcome them to Pitman.
Pastor Jim’s appointment officially ends on June 30, but pastors traditionally use a week or two of vacation to facilitate the transition. No date has been set yet, but Pastor Jim’s last Sunday with us will probably be in the middle of June. Lay Speakers and Guest Pastors will lead the services until Pastor Mike arrives (likely on Sunday July 7 which is the first Sunday after July 1).
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To learn more about the staff at PUMC, check out the Staff Page: Staff
