First United Methodist Church has welcomed a new minister, Rev. Michael Brown. Although he is still getting his church office organized and “finding the light switches,” he has wasted no time serving in his new ministry.

He has already performed his first Bainbridge wedding. On June 13, Rebecca Long and Ward Cole had planned for former pastor Stephen Webb to conduct their ceremony, but had to call on the new minister who hadn’t even moved yet, when Webb suffered a heart attack.

Rev. Brown and his wife Tammy moved here from Quitman, where he served three years as pastor of the United Methodist Church. Prior to that he was at Wilmington Island in Savannah.

A graduate of Duke Divinity School, he has spent 32 years in the active ministry, following five years as a student pastor. He has a broad spectrum of ministry experience as he has also served a ministry in a nursing home.

He describes his biggest spiritual gift as being administrative. He plans to focus his time and attention in the Bainbridge church on teaching, preaching, administration and pastoring, particularly with the older members of the congregation.

He observes many congregations today are having disputes between those who prefer a traditional service and those who want contemporary worship. He recognizes the opportunity for spiritual worship in both services, while commenting  he has observed a trend, even among young people, toward a return to the traditional service.

Rev. Brown and his wife have two children, a daughter Allyson, who lives in Statesboro and works helping childcare facilities prepare to meet accreditation standards, and a son Michael, who is a recent graduate of Young Harris College, where he majored in theatre. He is currently living with his parents as he seeks new employment and performance opportunities.

Pastor Brown is an avid reader, preferring history and biography, with a major interest in the Lincoln years. He also confesses to being a collector. He has a large display of golf memorabilia in his office, and also keeps key chains and lapel pins.

More important is the collection of drawings and models given him by the children of his former churches. They demonstrate the strong loving connection he has with former parishioners.

He will spend his own 34th wedding anniversary on July 4 performing a wedding in Valdosta for a young Marine, a former member of the Quitman church, who is about to be deployed.

In Quitman he was a member of the Rotary Club, served on the board of Family Connection and was active in the ministerial association. He plans to continue those interests in Bainbridge.