The Staff Parish committee of The First United Methodist Church – Natchitoches met with the District Superintendent on Sunday afternoon and accepted the appointment of Rev. Gary Willis as the new pastor of First United Methodist Church effective July 1, 2020.

Gary is the middle son of a Methodist minister (Terry) and his older brother (Ricky) is also a United Methodist minister.

He is a graduate of Louisiana Tech University in Mathematics (1986) and the Saint Paul’s School of Theology (1989). He is married to Amy and they have two children, Amanda who is 24 and Jason who is 16. Amanda is a graduate of Centenary College and sang in the choir. Jason is a sophomore at Ruston High School.

Gary is currently the District Superintendent of the Monroe District.

I know you will join me in praying for Gary, Amy, Amanda and Jason in this time of transition. 

God bless,

Doug de Graffenried
Senior Minister