Tom Durrance
Pastor
My wife Angie and I are excited about moving to Ebenezer UMC. One of the first questions I am often asked is, “Where are you from?” I grew up in central Florida. I sometimes joke that I am an endangered species, “Native Floridian” because most of the folks down there are transplants from the north. I went to college in Clarksville, Arkansas and joined the army and went to Fort Knox where I met my wife, Angie. She was an army nurse and having more fun, so I got out and she stayed in. We have traveled many places in her career, and she retired in July 2008. Now she gets to follow me as the Lord moves us in the Virginia Conference. Oh, and Angie’s roots are from East Tennessee (off I-75 between Knoxville and Chattanooga).
Through the years I have worked as an Armor Officer, in restaurant and retail management, computer programming, software instruction, and in various church staff positions. I also pastored a church near Nashville (from 1997-1998). I earned a Master of Religion from Trevecca Nazarene College in 1995 and a Masters of Divinity from Asbury Theological Seminary in 2003. Since we have moved to Virginia, I have served the Painter-Quinby Charge on the Eastern Shore for 5 years, Fieldale UMC in the Danville District for 6 years, and Main Street UMC in Emporia for 6 years. I am an ordained Elder in the Virginia Conference.
The focus of my ministry is making disciples of Jesus Christ. Discipleship means we “listen to God, do what God says, and see what happens.” When we do this, we begin to walk in the Kingdom of God in the here and the now. I am excited about being appointed at Ebenezer UMC where God has sent us. Let us listen to the Lord together and see what God wants next.